Meet Mike Csapo
Candidate for Pierce County Sheriff.
Hello, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Mike Csapo and I’m running for the position of Sheriff with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department. I am currently a Sergeant and Patrol Supervisor with the Sheriff’s Department, and I have worked for Pierce County for the last 18 years. I also served 2 years as a Police Officer with the University of Washington Police Department, and prior to that I spent 20 years in the United States Army as a Military Policeman. Suffice to say, after almost 40 years in Law Enforcement, I still love what I do, and it’s the daily connections I make with people and citizens in our great County that keeps me coming back.
I am not a politician, I’ve never run for public office, and until recently never considered it. I grew up in a blue collar family, and I learned my work ethic from mother and father. There were certain jobs that were considered service jobs, and all of them were honorable, Police, Fire, Postal, Military and others. Politics was considered a calling, you did it to help others, it was never considered a career or a way to make a living. It was once considered honorable, and that’s how I’m running my campaign. You can volunteer your time to help me, but not your money, there are no donation tabs on my website. I am not, nor will I, accept any money from outside sources. Gas is over $4.00, so are basic necessities like milk and eggs. Save your money and spend it those things that really matter, like your family.
Our County and communities used to be a beautiful place to live, work and raise your family. Now, people are afraid to go for a walk in their own neighborhoods, shop at grocery stores, and have to ask for help to get every day items because they’re kept under lock and key. You worry about your children in the schools and have security in your places of worship, and somehow this has become normal. I wish I could tell you this is an easy fix, but it took years for things to get this bad, and only through police and communities working together can we take back our streets.
We have had the same staffing numbers for deputies on patrol for the last 30 years and it is woefully inadequate. From South Hill to the Detachments, University Place to Edgewood, we are understaffed and overworked and it shows. Your deputies are so busy handling other calls that they are unable to even respond to car prowls, shoplifting, or trespassing complaints. More and more your being told to file the report online. Our detective bureau is also understaffed, so many of the calls that are reported are not investigated due to lack of personnel. Our jail is also understaffed, which means when we do arrest someone for a crime, we can’t book them in jail or if we do they are immediately released and free to commit more crimes.
There aren’t easy answers to the problems we face, from lack of prosecution to weak judges releasing felons with little to no bail. I can and will fix the staffing levels in the Sheriff’s Department, but I need your help with the rest. You, the citizens of Pierce County, have the power to make change. From pushing forth Initiatives and forcing action, to your vote, you can make a difference, and show the legislature in Olympia that your tired of being taken for granted. Change is hard sometimes, and most people don’t like it, but we’re all going to have to get off the sidelines and into the game. I’m doing it by running for Sheriff, what are you going to do?
