Experience and financial budgeting abilities were key themes throughout the Coles County Sheriff debate Tuesday.

Other than James Rankin, a republican candidate who was recovering from surgery, George Voudre, a democratic candidate, John Clough and Randy Ervin, both Republican candidates, were present in the Grand Ballroom touting what they have done in their past to prove their worth for the sheriff seat.

Ervin said he plans to strengthen the communication with community leaders, having weekly meetings allowing for face-to-face with much of the constituents. While the communication has not been terrible by any means, it could be improved Ervin said.

“People are less reluctant to pick up the phone and call and talk to you about a problem, ask a question, express a concern if they don’t know you personally,” Ervin said. “I am a big believer in getting out of the office, getting out and talking to people, meeting with people.”

He said he has adopted these principles through working the Lakeland College Police Department.

With the lack of state appropriations plaguing not only the sheriff’s department but also other departments in the state, Ervin said he would start off looking at a comprehensive budget and then go and prioritize finding what needs to be cut.

He said he would talk to the lowest ranking deputy to the higher-ranking officers to see what the priorities are. He added it is not what people want to do, but it is what people can afford to do. Ervin has worked for two years on the Mattoon City Council, working with the council on the city budget.

Clough and Voudre both focused on enhancing the amount of time and effort put into training. Clough planned for overall training enhancements. He said this would be possible by using the various revenue streams for training. With that training, it would be possible for those trained to in turn teach those in the future. There would be more certified training.

He said there were also grants to be utilized, even though they are few and far between, “they are out there.”

Voudre wanted to focus on having officers in the sheriff’s department go for professional training. Voudre added many other progressive departments send their staff to these programs, but Coles County has never sent one.

Voudre as well as Ervin have been enrolled in the one of these programs and Voudre said more officers enrolled in these programs would be beneficial to Coles County.

Voudre added it would be cost effective other than the time spent away from the department. The federal government covers the cost. Voudre also made a point to take interest in the budget. He said his current training at Northwestern University will have prepared him for the role.

Despite not being in these types of programs, Clough said he believed being in these programs and having a graduate’s degree does not make a good leader.

“Just because a person doesn’t have a Master’s degree does not mean they can’t manage something,” Clough said.

Despite the hour-long discussion on what exactly these candidates had to offer, only roughly 10 people attended the debate. Hannah Edwards, the external affairs committee chairwoman, said the committee was unable to market the debate enough especially with the rushed time period. Scheduling conflicts from the candidates made it difficult to arrange before Spring Break, she said.

Student Senate members took notes through the debate and will present what each candidate focused on. Edwards said their job now is to get this information gained from the debate to then give to the students.

The candidates all agreed students need to be paying attention to these types of elections. The students could swing an entire election in Coles County. Clough said these students do not realize the power the have. Voudre agreed and said he hopes students exercise their right and prove other community members wrong.

“You need to be a part of this process,” Voudre said. “The attendance here is lacking. (Students) can make a difference. If you want your voice to be heard, you have the power.”

Jarad Jarmon can be reached at 581-2812 or jsjarmon@eiu.edu.