Fond du lac County Sheriff’s captain Ryan Waldschmidt says he is clearly the most qualified candidate for sheriff. Waldschmidt filed his declaration of candidacy papers this month to run for the office and held a campaign kick-off party Sunday. He will square off against patrol deputy Mike Norton in an August Republican primary election. Waldschmidt has been with the department since 1998, moving steadily up the ranks, and promoted to captain two years ago. Unlike his opponent Waldschmidt is a graduate of the prestigious FBI Academy and is also the former SWAT Team commander. “I’ve had a chance to work as a sniper and SWAT Team commander for three years before I got the role I’m in now as captain of operations,” Waldschmidt told WFDL news. Waldschmidt has also worked as a crash scene reconstruction expert and currently serves as Highway Safety Coordinator. Waldschmidt says one of the first challenges facing the department will be replacing retiring personnel including sheriff Mick Fink and chief deputy Mark Strand, who have a combined 75 years of experience in the department. “So its going to be critical that we get a sheriff that has leadership experience, because not only are they (Fink and Strand) retiring but we also have other administrators and supervisors that are getting up there in age, getting close to retirement. So we’re going to have some turnover going forward.” Waldschmidt says the drug problem continues to plague the community. He says in addition to opioids, methamphetamine and crack cocaine are starting to resurface. “Those number are skyrocketing. We’re seizing more of that on the streets.” Waldschmidt has worked in almost every facet of the Sheriff’s Office and says he has the support of almost everyone in the department.
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