Maxwell was appointed by Yellow-stone County commissioners to fill an unexpired term as sheriff in 1992, following the death of then-Sheriff Mike Schafer. He fended off challengers in two subsequent elections, and ran for re-election without a Republican opponent in 2002.
He said he's confident his job performance will cinch another four-year term.
"I have the experience, the background, and I've made this agency one of the most respected law enforcement agencies in the Northwest," Maxwell said, citing the volume of requests by other agencies to make use of the department's training resources, equipment, facilities and tactical team.
"That takes a pretty good reputation," he said.
While Maxwell describes himself as a proven leader, Linder said the sheriff's department needs more energy and fresh ideas.
He wants to reinstate a resident deputy program that would detail deputies to outlying parts of the county, strengthen traffic enforcement, improve relationships and communication with neighboring law enforcement agencies, and further develop disaster preparedness.
Another of Linder's primary goals is to bolster search-and-rescue capabilities by better coordinating local search-and-rescue units, volunteers, fire departments and quick-response units.
"I just think that our department could be doing more," Linder said.
Doing more need not mean expanding the department's 11 million annual budget, he said. Creating a resident deputy program is one example of how a new perspective in leadership can improve law enforcement countywide without costing more, Linder said.
Under the program, one or two deputies would be reassigned to the northeastern reaches of Yellowstone County and be responsible for patrolling Shepherd and the surrounding communities.
The approach has multiple advantages, Linder said. The deputies would get to know the areas they are working in, develop bonds with residents and be available for emergency responses.
"It's a proactive rather than reactive approach," Linder said.
"We're getting more and more people living out there and we have less and less law enforcement."
Linder worked as a resident deputy early in his career, and he credits one relationship he cultivated during that time with helping him defuse an armed standoff between deputies and a suicidal man. In that case, Linder was able to talk the man into lowering his weapon and surrendering.
"If I didn't know who he was, who knows what would have happened," he said.
In Maxwell's view, the program is a proven failure.
He said resident deputies were scrapped by Schafer, the previous sheriff, because of complaints that deputies were taking sides in disputes before responding.
It's also difficult to provide adequate law enforcement around the clock with just one or two resident deputies limited to 40-hour work weeks.
"There's no logic to it," Maxwell said. "There were so many complaints.
We were getting calls at the main office asking us to send another deputy because the residents out there didn't want to deal with the resident deputy. The deputies were taking sides."
Other ideas promoted by Linder were hardly new, Maxwell said.
The county already provides its deputies with extensive training for disaster and emergency preparedness, participating in disaster drills whenever they're held in the area, he said. The latest example was an exercise in September in which more than a dozen local agencies and departments coordinated a response to a mock chemical leak at the ConocoPhilips refinery, he said.
Maxwell stands by the department's traffic enforcement, saying deputies are encouraged to stop motorists when they don't have other calls that take priority, and they are active participants in a multiagency drunk driving task force.
Search-and-rescue efforts are also well in hand, he said; the majority of them involve the Yellowstone County River, with the help of a recently acquired patrol craft.
He believes his relationship with other agencies is solid.
"I think we're a very energetic organization and we have a wonderful reputation, which is important to the people in this county, I would think," Maxwell said.
If re-elected, Maxwell said he would continue to develop programs to ease overcrowding at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility until the county expands it. The jail is built to accommodate 287 inmates but has an average daily population that exceeds 400 inmates.
Work-release programs, electronic monitoring, timed bond payments and drug treatment are some of the programs the department spearheaded as less costly alternatives to incarceration, he said.
"I'm trying to find programs that stop recidivism," Maxwell said. "Every time we hear of a new program that is viable, we look into it if we think it'll relieve some of the pressure."
Linder attacked one program recently opened up to inmates.
The Silver Leaf Center - an outpatient drug treatment program operated by Rimrock Foundation - is a potential threat to residents in the North Park neighborhood because there is insufficient supervision of jail inmates, Linder said.
Participants receive intensive therapy during the day and return to the jail at night. The daily schedule includes 40 minutes of recreation, which usually involves basketball, tennis, touch football or play with flying discs in North Park.
The staff at Rimrock, not deputies, provides the supervision.
"I'm all for prisoners that will accept treatment getting treatment," Linder said. "But they're still prisoners and they need to be treated as such.
"
Maxwell said Linder and other critics do not account for built-in safety measures. Only inmates with misdemeanor records and no history of violence are considered.
"If they had any history of violence of any kind, they wouldn't be qualified," Maxwell said.
"So far, we're had very good luck and the program at this point seems to be working."
Linder said he would focus instead on pushing to expand the jail.
"I think our major concern is getting jail added onto sooner rather than later," Linder said.
"It's not getting any better and it's not getting any cheaper."
Eventually, a bond issue would likely be necessary to finance the expansion, he said, but other means could be explored as well, such as raising fees the county charges to house inmates from other agencies. He said he would make it a priority to research the jail's financial health and assess options for growth.
Prior to being sheriff, Maxwell served as a patrol deputy, canine officer, juvenile detective, major crimes investigator, commander of the detective division and undersheriff. He said he was groomed by Schafer to take over the job, which involves managing an annual budget of 11 million and overseeing nearly 200 employees, including the department's reserve officers.
By comparison, Maxwell said, Linder supervises between eight and 10 deputies as a shift commander.
"This is a complicated job," Maxwell said. "This is a multimillion-dollar corporation, so to speak. There's a lot to learn to run an organization as complex as this.
Just because you're a shift commander doesn't prepare you for the overall operation of an organization of this size."
Linder responds that he's got more than a few bona fides himself.
Before his career in law enforcement, Linder worked as a manager in the auto repair and parts business for 13 years.
In the sheriff's office, he advanced to lieutenant while serving in several special assignments.
He has been a firearms instructor, tactical response team leader and a member of the river rescue team. He served as a scuba diver in search-and-rescue operations.
He has won two lifesaving awards during his career, including one from the Red Cross this year for preventing a suicide in 2004.
He also helped install and maintain the department's in-car computer systems, he said.
Linder pledged to be more open to suggestions from subordinates and would work on improving morale in the department.
His reputation among his colleagues helped earn him an endorsement this year from the union that represents Yellowstone County patrol deputies and sergeants, he said.
"Nobody comes into this job knowing everything," Linder said. "I still have a lot to learn, but I'm not one of those people who are afraid to learn.
It's not like I won't ask questions."
The job of sheriff carries a base salary of 56,440, with raises for longevity. Maxwell's salary is 70,594, set to rise in April to 71,138.
Should Linder be elected, he would earn 65,695 his first year.
Maxwell heads into the election with one obstacle.
The state Human Rights Bureau issued a finding recently supporting claims that Maxwell and a top commander retaliated against two deputies because of their support for Deputy Chris Romero, who alleged he faced racial discrimination on the job.
Romero's complaint was dismissed in April, but the bureau said Thursday there was reasonable cause to believe that two deputies were coerced and intimidated after providing statements on Romero's behalf during the process.
The agency found no cause for additional claims of racial discrimination against the two.
One of the deputies, Roger Bodine, denied public suggestions by Maxwell that the complaints were politically motivated.
He noted that the case stretches back to last year.
Linder said last week he has stayed out of the dispute and exerted no influence on the deputies.
The case is pending before the Human Rights Bureau.
If the agency does not broker a successful compromise between the sheriff's office and the deputies within 30 days, the case could move to an administrative hearing. The three deputies also filed a federal suit related to the allegations.
Contact Lance Benzel at or 657-1357.
Published on Wednesday, October 25, 2006.
Last modified on 10/25/2006 at 12:50 am
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Past employment: Maxwell started as a sheriff's deputy in 1977. He worked as a patrol deputy, canine officer, juvenile detective, major crimes investigator, division commander, commander of the detective division and undersheriff.
Family: Three daughters and six grandchildren.
Civic involvement: Current member of boards for the National Association of Counties, Justice and Public Safety Committee; the Montana Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association; City-County Communications Center; Rimrock Foundation; Mental Health Foundation; and the Honorary Board of Directors for Parents, Let's Unite for Kids. He is also a member of the Riverside Optimist Club.
Occupation: Sheriff's lieutenant in Yellowstone County.
Past employment: Linder joined the department on a volunteer basis as a reserve deputy in 1985. He signed on full time four years later.
He has worked as a patrol deputy, an undercover investigator in the Drug Enforcement Division and a resident deputy assigned to Worden, and was promoted to sergeant after five years on the job. Several years later, he made lieutenant.
Linder has served as a firearms instructor, and has been a member of the search-and-rescue team and the tactical team, including four years as team leader.
He was also responsible for installing and maintaining mobile data terminals, the deputies' in-car computer systems.
Before law enforcement, Linder worked as a manager in the automotive repair and parts business for 13 years.
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