Sanchez to run for Orange County Sheriff

My name is Mike Sanchez and I am running for Orange County Sheriff. I have always wanted to be the Sheriff and I believe my past training and experience and my current position will help me be a Sheriff who can take the Sheriff's Office to the next level. A little about myself, I am married to Tiffany Sanchez and we have 6 boys. Rodney who lives in Bridge City, Blake in San Antonio, Bret in Beaumont, Kaine is currently serving in the US Army and stationed in Hawaii, Ethan who is a Senior at Vidor High School and also plans to join the Army, and Weston who lives in Blossom. I moved to Vidor 28 years ago and love our community. I want to help make it a safe place where we can raise our children and grandchildren. I am currently employed as the Chief of Police for Vidor ISD. 

I've held several roles in my career. I was a supervisor with experience in operating a patrol shift, a Lieutenant leading the day to day operations of a Police Department, a warrant officer serving warrants and have worked in court security as a Bailiff. As a Public Information Officer, I have built relationship with the news media and some of those relationships still hold today. While working in the command staff level, I have investigated citizen complaints and officer misconduct. I have multiple levels of training with FEMA for dealing with pre and post natural disasters.  I worked Street Crimes and Narcotics Investigations dealing with Thefts and Burglaries and Highway Interdiction. I also served as a Hostage Negotiator with the Orange County Area Law Enforcement SWAT team. Currently, as the Chief of Police, I assisted in bringing safety and security to the forefront with training, equipment, and an emergency operations plan. Our school district police officers now have the equipment they need to confront an active shooter, our teachers have knowledge to keep our students safe in their classrooms, and our nurses have added medical equipment and tourniquets throughout the district for a post critical incident event. The tourniquets later helped save the life of a Jr High student. The quick thinking and training of our Police, Nurses, and staff helped save the life on their campus that day. We have established  a safety and security committee and a reunification team for critical incidents in our district. We have added a plethora of safety and security measures to our campuses, all in keeping our teachers, staff, and students safe. 

Where we will be going if I get elected: I look to be involved with all school districts in Orange County. I would like the Sheriff's Office to be a resource to our school districts. A tool they can add to their tool box by assisting them in training and working with their Marshall's, school district police departments, and their administration. I want them to know we will be there to help them and support them utilizing my background in the school systems. The schools have plans in place already to keep their students and staff safe and I want to add what we can to help them further. I also want the Sheriff's Office to be a resource to our churches and businesses in Orange County and to help expand their needs for training their safety teams and employees for an active shooter event or critical incident. I want our citizens to be highly satisfied with our Sheriff's Office by letting them know Orange County will not be a safe haven for those who look to commit crimes. I want to bridge gaps and working relationships with all Law Enforcement agencies. I will work closely with the news media and be as transparent as possible without jeopardizing cases or investigations. I want to bring organizational integrity and accountability to the department. The leadership will set the tone from our correctional officers to our deputies to our dispatchers. 

I appreciate your support for my candidacy for Orange County Sheriff.