FAQ

Q: What is your view of the Second Amendment?

Answer: I strongly support law abiding citizen’s right to carry a handgun concealed or with an unrestricted permit.  There are over 13,000 licensed pistol permit holders in our county.  When you take out those under 21 that means almost one in three adults have a pistol permit.

Q: What is your position on the SAFE Act?

Answer: I believe the SAFE Act is unconstitutional in several respects. First, it was passed under a “message of necessity”, which deprived a fair, open and honest discussion of facts and proposals.

Second, it criminalizes possession of certain firearms by law-abiding citizens who have never committed a crime and may have had their firearms for 10, 20 or in some cases in our county over 50 years. 

Third, it criminalizes possession of certain firearms based merely on the appearance of the firearm.

There are several lawsuits pending challenging the law.  I believe the case will eventually reach the United States Supreme Court.  If the Court interprets the law as I do, they will find many portions of the Act unconstitutional.  

Q: What new programs will you implement?

Answer: Sheriff Lorey is a committed and hardworking public servant who has used his leadership skills to diligently protect this community.  In his almost 20 years of service as sheriff, he continued and implemented several excellent programs. These include the K-9 team, dive team, emergency response team, boat patrol, and snowmobile patrol. Due to fiscal concerns and budget limits he had to make some very difficult decisions on what programs to maintain or terminate. 

I will seek to restore or enhance these programs by working with the board of supervisors, the private sector and community partners.  To limit the fiscal impact on the taxpayers I will aggressively seek state, federal and private grant funding to accomplish these goals.

Q: What political party is Rich Giardino?

Answer: Rich is a lifelong Republican. He has run for office on the Republican Party line as a Conservative and on a third-party line in the past. 

Rich has always believed that as an elected official you should work for and treat all people fairly regardless of his or their party affiliation.