My name is Mark Byerhof and I want to be your next Fremont County sheriff

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Biography

I was raised in a law enforcement family in Illinois. My grandfather was town marshal, and my father was a police chief. My family also helped start a fire department and ambulance service. I continue to hold that
commitment to public service. My father told me always do three things: Respect your community, listen to your employees even if it’s something small — they can make you or break you, and buy local to keep the taxpayers’ money in the community.

Growing up in farm country, my first jobs were picking peas and corn. After graduating high school, I started a family-owned trucking and excavating company. We hauled goods around the country. As a
small business owner, I learned the importance of fiscal responsibility. Crime fighting is the top role of a sheriff but making wise decisions on spending is essential. There’s no better way to learn that than
running your own business.

I’m asking for your support. I’m asking for your vote. Building priorities for the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office is a community-wide effort. Everyone in the county has a voice.

Communication and transparency are key. And I promise to deliver results that you can depend on.

History

i retired from the trucking business after I moved permanently to Island Park. My family has been coming to the area since the 1970s for outdoor activities. In 2016, my wife April and I — we’ve been married 35 years and have five children and 10 grandkids — bought a home in the Mack’s Inn area and have lived there year-round. This is when I started the next stage in my career by serving in public safety, building on the lessons learned from my father and grandfather. I joined the search and rescue team in 2017 and began taking classes at Idaho State University to get certified in law enforcement, including marine law enforcement, which is critical in our region of lakes and rivers. I joined the reserves for the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office. I currently am an officer with the St. Anthony Police Department.

Platform

Public Safety

Our county is growing, as we’re all aware, with more people, more tourism, more traffic. It’s critical that the sheriff’s office take the necessary steps to ensure public safety and meet the challenges we face now and for the future. As your sheriff, I’m committed to being a leader who makes a positive and effective impact on keeping our people and places safe. I’m running as an independent because my sole focus is law enforcement and its apolitical mission — protecting people and businesses from crime, training and retaining the best deputies, engaging and informing the community, and most important, being there when you need us.

Deputy Turnover

How do we build a better Fremont County Sheriff’s Office? It starts with stopping the excessive turnover of deputies. It takes great hiring, great training, great wages and insurance. Better pay and benefits at another sheriff’s office or police department are hard to pass up. It’s just reality. We need to increase wages for longevity. We need a pay scale that makes sense. My goal as sheriff is to spend taxpayers’ money wisely and reward top performance and commitment appropriately so our county retains the best and the brightest.

Visible Officers

When was the last time you saw the sheriff? When was the last time you saw a sheriff’s car in your neighborhood, or doing a business check? How about seeing a deputy that you know? Fremont is a big county. For example, as sheriff I will ensure that Island Park will have at least one deputy on patrol every day and night. Across the county, deputies will check on businesses and introduce themselves, building relationships with the community. You’ll see me patrolling with my deputies, leading by example. I will be open to any ideas, from members of the sheriff’s office to members of the public. Consider me the solution to the problem.

Efficient Training for Officers

I believe training opportunities are essential to the job. I will increase the training budget — and keep the law enforcement training in Idaho. Among many opportunities to expand their knowledge and achieve law enforcement certifications, I’ll encourage deputies to take emergency medical technician training. The sheriff’s office is the first on scene in most calls. With more training to handle emergencies it would be an asset to the county — not taking anything away from our great ambulance staff!

Addiction Prevention

Also, as a personal commitment, I will work on ways to help combat drug and alcohol addictions. I know about this problem through the experience of my daughter, who struggled with addiction like so many people across the country. Drug abuse affects families and communities but also law enforcement resources.