My First Meeting with Sheriff Candidates Kurt Schneider and Chad Enderby

Joe Lyons • March 18, 2024

My first meeting with Sheriff candidates Kurt Schneider and Chad Enderby was at the Ashland County Fair in September of 2023 where both had booths in their bid to be our next sheriff.

In talking to both candidates in those early days, it was clear Kurt Schneider had the vision of why he wanted to become our next Sheriff and what his priorities would be.

I subsequently heard candidate Enderby speak at the Black River school one evening and listened to him describe what he portrayed to be experience in the Sheriff’s office which I understood not to be an accurate portrayal of his real experience (or lack there of).

Rather than listen to second hand information, I picked up the phone and personally spoke to Sheriff Wayne Risner to verify what was being said by the candidate.

Sheriff Risner confirmed what we all now clearly know, Chad Enderby never worked a minute serving in the Ashland Sheriff’s department.

Enderby’s portrayal that he “had experience in the Sheriff’s department” disturbed me—it still does.

There is enough deception and half-truths we have to live with in Washington. I personally don’t want to worry about that locally with our top local law enforcement official.

I don’t want to have to dissect every word and listen for the “half-truth” part of what is being said. That is just a deal breaker for me in a job this important.

Contrast that with Kurt Schneider who has not only years of experience serving on Ashland County patrol but also working in the jail and with the canine unit and other special teams. Kurt has years of actual, real work experience in the Ashland Sheriff’s department.

Kurt has the full endorsement of the current Ashland County Sheriff Wayne Risner, Retired Ashland Sheriff Larry Overholt, and multiple Sheriffs outside of Ashland County he has worked with—they have seen his dedication, good judgment and hard work partnering with their departments and endorse him to be Ashland County’s next Sheriff.

I don’t know how it can be any clearer when multiple people who DO THE JOB tell us Kurt is the most qualified.

They do this job day in and day out. They know what it takes. They know Kurt. It’s just that clear.

Vote Tuesday March 19th to make Kurt Schneider our next Ashland Sheriff!

Cass Birchbauer