Corrupt Sheriff

So a friend of mine recently asked me why don't I start my blog back up and talk about politics there (instead of spamming IRC and twitter)?

I can't believe I never thought of it.

Ordinarily I don't care about local politics, but a headline in the paper today caught my eye so I guess it gets the honor of being my first political post.
The sheriff of Bedford County, Pennsylvania (where I live) recently came up for re-election. His name is Charwin Reichelderfer (No I did not make that up). One of his deputies, Charles Stuby, ran against him this time. Another deputy, Lukas Berkey, helped with Stuby's campaign.

Reichelderfer won his re-election, and his first order of business was firing Stuby and Berkey. Why? Did they suddenly become horrible police officers?

The sheriff isn't a normal politician where you come in and replace the staff with your own people when you win. These men he fired were fellow cops. Stuby had been with the police department for over a decade. You cannot just fire a fellow police officer because he tried to get elected sheriff.

I would go so far as to call this move "corrupt". It's basically saying "if you do not bow your head to me and act exactly as I wish, you will be out of a job". Not to mention how bad this is for the county. We're now short two good, high-ranking, police officers with years of experience so that the sheriff can play alpha-male.