First of all, I stand corrected by Mr. Joe Roberts. Kurt Freitag is on his third marriage. I apologize for the incorrect information. And for the record I wrote in my letter that Mr. Freitag is on his fourth marriage and not that he had four divorces as Mr. Roberts incorrectly claimed I wrote. To be clear then, Mr. Freitag has had two divorces and is on his third marriage. In my first letter, I contrasted this with Bob Kindler’s 31 years of marriage.

Secondly, regarding Mr. Freitag’s educational achievements, I simply reported what was on his website. I checked it again today, Oct. 10, 2014, and nothing that Mr. Roberts identified in his letter about Mr. Freitag’s educational achievements has been added to the website.  The website is sorely lacking. Who knows why this information was left out?

Thirdly, I noticed Mr. Roberts was emphatic about Mr. Freitag’s leadership abilities, but mentioned nothing about his 19 years as deputy, serving under three different sheriffs, and never getting a single promotion. Also, a military career is laudable, but my point in the first letter was that apparently it didn’t spill over into his career as a deputy. Was something lost in transmission? Before becoming sheriff, Bob Kindler, between the years 1987 to 2010, (a 23-year period), received two promotions.

Finally, the main point of my first letter was that leadership is more than talk. I wish no ill will toward Mr. Freitag, but his 19 years of no promotions tells us that his “walk” doesn’t match up with his “talk.”  A Latin proverb applies well to this situation: “It is absurd that a man should lead others who cannot lead himself.”

Sheriff Bob Kindler has worked hard on improving and growing his gifts. Throughout his career he has been walking the talk. Sheriff Bob Kindler deserves our support and our vote.

 

Joel B. Erickson

Albert Lea