Union County voters can send Boyd Rasmussen back as sheriff for a fifth term.

But they should not.

Observer editor Phil Wright in an April 14 column explained the paper this year would not make political endorsements in part because he is too new to Union County to give an informed opinion on who the best candidate is to serve as sheriff.

That changed April 28, when the Oregon Department of Justice released an eight-page report summarizing its investigation into Rasmussen. The department spent much of 2019 investigating Rasmussen for allegations of official misconduct from 2011-16. The justice department in some instances indeed found no wrongdoing. But too often the report stated the statute of limitations ran out and therefore Rasmussen was beyond the reach of prosecution.

That same day, Rasmussen stated he did nothing wrong and he was notified he was cleared of all allegations and the case was closed. The report, however, does not exonerate Rasmussen, who no doubt was a fine sheriff early on. But his time has run its course, and voters have a choice of three other challengers.

One of them stands out as the person to helm the office: Shane Rollins.

Rollins was military police in the U.S. Marines. The criminals he dealt with also were military. That’s a step up from the average bad guy in Union County. And as a Marine, Rollins steeped himself in a culture of discipline, leadership and adherence to a higher calling, the same qualities a sheriff needs.

He also is well spoken and composed. Again, qualities befitting a sheriff.

Cody Bowen, sheriff’s deputy and the school resource officer, and Bill Miller, parole and probation officer and former sheriff’s sergeant, also are running. They have one mark against: Both served under Rasmussen.

Miller and Bowen are fine men and we think they want to serve as sheriff for the right reasons, but this election now is about freeing the Union County Sheriff’s Office of Rasmussen’s influence as much as possible. Rollins can do that.

Yet there is room for Miller or Bowen.

If Rollins wins, he would have to obtain his Oregon police certification. That would take being away from the county for long stretches while completing courses at the Public Safety Academy, Salem. Rollins therefore should tap Bill Miller to serve as undersheriff.

Miller has the experience and know-how to handle the office while Rollins would be absent. Plenty of locals know and respect Miller. And while he served under Rasmussen for 13 years, Miller has stressed he does not want his name connected to his former boss.

Miller should have left the sheriff’s office sooner than 2018, but coming back as the No. 2 in charge would provide him the opportunity to show he is eager to help Rollins shape the office in a new direction.

Bowen got into the sheriff’s race because he sees firsthand the need for change. If Rollins prevailed, he would be smart to keep Bowen on in his role. Rollins and Miller also could work with Bowen to help him gain the polish he needs to step into law enforcement leadership.

Rasmussen’s mishandling of the investigation also reveals its time for a new sheriff. He should have jumped out in front of the situation at the start, telling the public he and the sheriff’s office were under investigation and working to provide and assist the justice department with whatever it needed.

Instead, Rasmussen let rumors fester and kept quiet until Bowen commented in the April 25 edition of The Observer about the investigation. Rasmussen then issued a public statement criticizing Bowen for choosing “to inform this community of an investigation into some of the activities in my sheriff’s office.”

And only then did Rasmussen tell the public his office fully cooperated in the investigation.

In other words, Rasmussen did not want the public to know the worst kept secret in the county and he only said something when a political opponent forced his hand. That’s telling, and it is not political nor professional leadership.

The sheriff’s candidates during a recent online forum answered questions about the challenges law enforcement faces in Union County. Drugs and mental health issues are obvious problems that need constant addressing. But the glaring issue in the sheriff’s office is Boyd Rasmussen.

Voters should change that and give the office and the men and women who serve there a deserving fresh start by electing Shane Rollins as sheriff.