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John Daley ReportingIs the Sheriff neglecting residents in a problematic portion of Salt Lake County? That's the criticism today from his campaign opponent.
Two words --"White City." It's a section of unincorporated Salt Lake County. Democrat Jim Winder says Sheriff Aaron Kennard has ignored the area to the point where emergency response times are much longer there than elsewhere. It's a charge the Sheriff vigorous denies.
Most folks have probably never heard of it, though its 6,000 residents can tell you it's an island of unincorporated Salt Lake County surrounded by a sea of Sandy.
The Democrat in the Sheriff's race says his research shows when it comes to police coverage, White City gets ignored compared to its neighbors.
Jim Winder, (D) Candidate for Sheriff: "The sheriff made a conscious decision to steal from Peter to pay Paul. And he took allocated resources and devoted them to Cottonwood Heights, as he needed to do per their contract, but that left the unincorporated areas underserved."
Aaron Kennard, (R) Salt Lake County Sheriff: "Couldn't be further from the truth. They've not been neglected. All calls are answered, maybe they're not answered to the speed my opponent likes or some of the residents would like."
The Sheriff says he's asked the county council for more deputies there in the past four budgets only to be turned down by the county council; and that when it comes to emergenices, White City is treated just like everyone else.
Aaron Kennard, (R) Salt Lake County Sheriff: "They're happy with the level of service. They'd like more."
Residents we spoke with say when it comes to speeding and parking problems, they do feel neglected.
Jerry Bryan, White City Resident : "We could use more patrol in the area to slow the traffic down more."
Henry Nahalewski, White City Resident: "Not a burning issue, and it's not an all encompassing issue, but there are a couple of things I'd like to see a little more focus on to make things a little bit safer in this neighborhood, yes."
Election day is coming soon, November 7th; it's in a little more than two weeks.
