This is part of a series of Q&As with candidates for local office in the Nov. 4 general election. This Q&A: Greg Sandstrom and Jeff Wallis, candidates for Kitsap County coroner.

The Kitsap County coroner is responsible for determining the cause and manner of death of all persons who die within the jurisdictional boundaries of Kitsap County. The coroner or his or her deputies are required to adhere to the Revised Code of Washington (36.24 and 68.50) for determining if a case is a jurisdictional death that would require a more thorough and in-depth investigation.

The coroner is paid $112,216 a year and receives the same benefits provided to other county employees.

GREG SANDSTROM
Residence: Port Orchard
Education: Police science degree, Olympic College; Washington State Patrol Academy graduate; hundreds of hours of death investigation classes such as Basic Death, Homicide, Child Death, Fire Death, Mass Fatality, and many more.
Relevant experience: 16 years as Kitsap County’s coroner; five years, Kitsap County deputy coroner; 13 years, Washington State Patrol trooper; six years in the ministry, including five years as chaplain for South Kitsap Fire & Rescue; 13 years as a emergency medical technician (EMT).

Q: What are the top issues in this campaign?
Sandstrom: The primary issue is that the coroner must have the professional training to lead a staff of deputy coroners, the management experience to effectively handle a budget of almost $1 million, and the proven leadership to make positive contributions to the Coroner’s Office and to Kitsap County. I am the only candidate that has the professional training, management experience and proven leadership for the job.

Q: What are your priorities if elected?
Sandstrom: We have done an excellent job performing professionally while managing a 24/7/365 operation with the smallest department budget in Kitsap County. My priority is to continue to partner with other counties to share services and expenses on a larger scale, saving Kitsap County money. Also, we will continue to evaluate practices and policies to find efficiencies and cost savings wherever possible.

Staffing remains a pressing issue. Although the county’s population continues to rise, our staffing levels have not risen proportionately. My priority is to most effectively utilize our full time staff, while building a talent pipeline to hire from when funding allows.

Kitsap County tragically loses citizens to premature deaths by suicide, traffic fatalities and child deaths. My priority is to bring every asset the Coroner’s Office has to the table to prevent the unnecessary loss of life in Kitsap County.

Q: How would you accomplish these priorities?
Sandstrom: Regarding managing on a restricted budget, Mason County is already paying to use the state-of-the-art morgue we built in 2009. I will get our morgue nationally certified, which will increase its regional use, contributing more funds to the county’s bottom line.

I utilized grant funding to acquire an X-ray machine and will continue to access grants for additional equipment needs, saving taxpayer dollars. My active participation in the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners gives me and my staff access to free professional training. As their legislative chairman, I am working with others to get statewide funding for a web-based program which would expedite death investigation and allow deputies to more effectively use their time.

Regarding staffing, this is not an easy job to fill, and it’s important we create a talent pipeline of experienced professionals who understand the demands of the position. I will create a reserve program, providing those interested in a career in the Coroner’s Office with the opportunity to experience the work first-hand, thus providing us an applicant pool to draw from.

Every preventable premature death is a tragedy. I will continue to expand the work I’m already doing. Kitsap’s Cribs for Kids Program, which I started last year, funded entirely by donations, will expand, providing safe sleeping conditions for babies from low-income families. I’m an active participant in the countywide Suicide Prevention effort. I serve on the board for Compassionate Friends. I work with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and first responders to put on mock crashes at high schools. I also partner with other organizations, such as the Navy, to provide premature death prevention programs.

Q: Regarding bipartisanship: Provide some examples of how you’ve worked cooperatively with someone of another political party to reach consensus or accomplish a goal.
Sandstrom: I’m endorsed by many local, state, and federal elected officials from both the Republican and Democrat parties as evidence of my history of working cooperatively in a bipartisan manner. My fellow elected coroners throughout the state recognize this and requested I serve as the legislative chairman of the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners, where I work with both parties on legislation affecting death investigation. During the recession, I worked cooperatively with the Democratic leadership in the county to maintain a balanced budget and manage the necessary cuts to our budget while maintaining levels of service. I’ve also worked with our local Democratic Party senators and representatives on legislation and statewide issues, and have earned their respect and endorsements.

Q: What experience do you have that makes you most qualified for the position you seek?
Sandstrom: I’m the only candidate who has served full time as both a deputy coroner (five years) and elected coroner (16 years). I’m a diplomat with the American Board of Medical Legal Death Investigators and a member of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners. I’m the past president of the Washington Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and the current legislative chairman. I am appointed by the governor to the statewide Forensic Investigations Council Board. I train deputy coroners and forensic nurses from around the state on death investigation, next of kin notification and mass fatalities. I’ve investigated hundreds of deaths and observed the related autopsies. I review and authorize all autopsy reimbursements for every coroner and medical examiner in the state. I have years of experience managing a complex budget of almost $1 million and supervising deputy coroners. I uniquely have the experience, training and compassion for the job.

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JEFF WALLIS
Residence: Bremerton
Occupation: Firefighter/paramedic.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in public safety administration, Grand Canyon University; master’s degree in leadership with focus on executive fire service leadership and disaster management, Grand Canyon University; Washington State Basic Death Investigation; paramedic training, University of Iowa; extensive classes and certifications through FEMA, the National Fire Academy and the Washington State Patrol in leadership, management, command, and control of large incidents, health and safety, and expanding operations, including regional and federal responses.
Relevant experience: 11 years as a deputy coroner; 20 months extra help as deputy coroner for Kitsap County; 28 years in the fire service; 21 years as a Washington state-certified paramedic; seven years as a fire chief; six years as a special sheriff’s deputy; over 20 years operating a business with my family.

Q: What are the top issues in this campaign? 
Wallis: The top issues of this campaign are integrating the office of Coroner into the community to become as much of a resource as we are a service provider, to effectively utilize all of our resources to improve our efficiency and level of service by modernizing the operations within the confines of the existing budget.

Q: What are your priorities if elected?
Wallis: — Reducing overtime expenditures. Current scheduling and staffing is creating an unneeded overtime burden and is providing unnecessary on duty staff during hours when we traditionally have less than 1 percent of our calls. By changing scheduling and position classifications we can improve service and staffing levels during historically peak periods and provide positions that can serve as light or limited duty if needed, and reduce personnel expenditures.

— Going to paperless reporting. This will not only allow our personnel to be more efficient, it will also allow us to utilize databases for area clergy, support groups, medical practitioners, translators, and funeral service providers.  This will give us the capability to provide all of this information to a family in the event of an unexpected death. It will also allow us to interface more seamlessly with end of life care providers such as hospice, so that they can assist families with preplanning activities. We can also utilize Internet-based reporting for instant information sharing with medical practitioners, law enforcement, and other involved agencies with our permission.

— Establish a training budget. The office does not currently have a training budget. Well-trained staff are not only more efficient, they are also much better able to meet the needs of our families and help guide them through the difficult process of dealing with the death of a loved one.

Q: How would you accomplish those priorities? 
Wallis: Overtime expenditures would decrease naturally with minor scheduling adjustments. Transitioning to 10-hour shifts with one eight-hour employee will allow for double coverage during the day and extra personnel during historically peak periods. Converting a recently approved full-time position to two part-time positions will again reduce expenses while allowing schedule flexibility, resulting in improved service provision.

There are several options for paperless reporting. I feel a web-based system would be the most appropriate avenue for this office. Web-based reporting is stored on a secure, third-party server with the capability to interface with many complimentary programs and is compatible with our current infrastructure, enabling a seamless transition.

By reanalyzing the current staffing schedules, reclassifying specific positions and more closely monitoring expenditures, we can redirect funds and establish a reasonable training budget without increasing our overall operating costs.

Q: Regarding bipartisanship: Provide some examples of how you’ve worked cooperatively with someone of another political party to reach consensus or accomplish a goal.
Wallis: I feel very strongly that partisanship plays no role in the Coroner’s Office. There are no politics involved in ensuring the families in our community are guided in the most caring and efficient manner through the loss of a loved one. I have worked extensively with many individuals with many diverse backgrounds and political affiliations to accomplish the tasks required for public service. I have forged unique partnerships between public agencies to obtain needed funding. I have formed relationships with many private enterprises to improve services without impacting available resources. Many of the cooperative agreements initiated over my decades of public service are still maintained and continue to provide the services needed today.

Q: What experience do you have that makes you most qualified for the position you seek? 
Wallis: I have experience in not only private enterprise as a small-business owner, but also in managing a public agency as a department head. I have learned to acquire funding from non-traditional sources, and maximize the usage of the resources that are available. My cumulative experience as a firefighter/paramedic and as a deputy coroner has given me the insight and ability to serve our families and our community with the utmost compassion and professionalism.  My experience, paired with my extensive education, makes me the most well-rounded and experienced candidate to serve our community.