Rich Stanek

Rich Stanek
Stanek at a 2014 National Night Out event
Sheriff of Hennepin County
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2007
Preceded by	Pat McGowan
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 32B district
In office January 7, 2003 – January 30, 2003
Preceded by	Michelle Rifenberg
Succeeded by	Kurt Zellers
Member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from the 33B district
In office March 13, 1995 – January 7, 2003
Preceded by	Warren Limmer
Succeeded by	Barb Sykora
Personal details
Born	(1962-02-02) February 2, 1962 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Sally Stanek
Alma mater	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Hamline University
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Richard W. Stanek (born February 2, 1962) is a Minnesota Republican politician. He became the 27th Hennepin County Sheriff on January 1, 2007. Stanek served from 1986 to 2006 as a police officer in Minneapolis, served from 1995 to 2003 in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and served from 2003 to 2004 as Commissioner of Public Safety under Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

Police service

Stanek joined the Minneapolis Police Department in 1986. He eventually worked his way up to the position of Commander of Criminal Investigations.^[1] He left MPD in 2006 upon being elected Sheriff of Hennepin County.

House of Representatives

Stanek was elected to the House of Representatives in a 1995 special election to replace Warren Limmer, who had left the House for the Minnesota Senate. Stanek was elected, and represented Maple Grove, Minnesota until 2003. He served as chair of the Crime Prevention committee from 1999–2001, and the chair of the Judiciary Finance committee from 2001-2003.^[2] Stanek continued to serve as a police officer during this time.

Commissioner of Public Safety

In 2003, Stanek was appointed by Tim Pawlenty to serve as Commissioner of Public Safety and Director of Homeland Security. He resigned his seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, and took office, serving until April 2004, when his involvement in a 1989 incident came to light. In 1989, Stanek allegedly shouted racial epithets and assaulted an African American driver at the scene of a traffic accident in which he was involved. The case was ultimately settled out of court.^[3]

Hennepin County Sheriff

Rich Stanek and Julianne Ortman in 2014

Stanek was elected Sheriff in 2006, replacing former Sheriff Pat McGowan. Stanek was re-elected in 2010. In both elections, Stanek was supported by many members of the African American community, who cited Stanek's willingness to admit to past mistakes, and his work with African American officers in the Minneapolis police department.^[3]

Controversies

In 2007 Mayor R.T. Rybak and Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan criticized Stanek for providing false information in the 26-minute video on the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge and for taking credit for actions that weren't his responsibility.^[4] The $30,000 film was funded with forfeited money earmarked for training. "His theft of the credit is not going to sit well with my staff and our hard working partners," Minneapolis police chief Tim Dolan said in an e-mail. The St. Cloud company that produced the video was the same company that handled advertising and marketing for Stanek's campaign in 2006.^[5]

Melissa Hill, who ran a campaign against Stanek under the slogan "Kitten for Sheriff"^[6] was awarded $15,000 in a federal civil rights settlement against Hennepin County.^[7][8] Hennepin County paid $15,000 to Melissa Hill for allegedly trespassing at Occupy Minneapolis. Hill's attorney Jordan Kushner said that "She was arrested and put in jail for no reason but for retaliation by the sheriff for being a political activist" and that Hill saw Stanek watching her from his SUV before she was arrested. He argued that both her original trespass order and arrest were unconstitutional. Hill was a legal observer for the National Lawyers Guild at that time of the arrest. "I feel I was vindicated," said Hill. "I was arrested on a public sidewalk. This sends a strong message that they can't be misusing their trespass policy to suppress free speech."^[7]

In 2010 after his re-election Stanek was involved in a conflict with the County Board of Commissioners over his budget. The conflict, arising as the budget season kicked in, highlighted the divisions among powerful elected officials who have different views of the county's priorities at a time when budgets are being frozen and services cut. Stanek "advocates for a larger role for the Hennepin County sheriff, and he wants to be held harmless from any budget cuts," Board Chair Mike Opat said. "But public safety is done by a lot of people, not only the sheriff. The sheriff is not the generalissimo of Hennepin County."^[9]

References