John DeGeorge Candidate for Fillmore County Sheriff

1. Tell us about yourself.

I have worked for the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office for 25 years, and have been Sheriff for the last four years. I previously held the position of Captain, Patrol Sergeant, Undercover Narcotics Investigator, Deputy, Dispatcher and Jailer. I grew up in Rushford and am a lifelong resident of Fillmore County. I graduated from Rushford-Peterson High School in 1995, and Alexandria Technical College in 1997.  My wife Jen and I live with our two kids in Norway Township, and are members of the Highland Prairie Lutheran Church. As a family, we enjoy being outdoors every chance we get.

2. Why are you running for office?

I am running for re-election to continue building the connection that we have established between the sheriff’s office and the community. We have increased our deputy’s time in the schools, expanded our D.A.R.E. program, and have established a successful crime prevention program that we will continue presenting to our citizens. Professionalism and personal accountability are very important to our office, and start with the sheriff. I am proud of the great work done by our staff and consider myself extremely fortunate that the people of our county have entrusted this job to me.

3. What do you hope to accomplish if you get elected?

I will work with the county board towards a resolution to our aging jail. We completed an extensive study determining Fillmore County’s needs, including the cost of closing our jail to house elsewhere versus maintaining our own facility. Maintaining our own jail was not only more cost-effective in the long run, it keeps jobs and tax dollars here in our community. It would have been much less expensive to taxpayers had this been dealt with in 2017 when the state downgraded our jail. As your sheriff, I will not kick this can down the road to be someone else’s problem.