Lt. Col. Daniel W. Soptic has filed for Wyandotte County Sheriff.
Soptic, 39, started with the Wyandotte County park rangers in 2004, then continued with the Sheriff’s Office after the merger in 2009.
“I think that the Sheriff’s Office has come a long way in the past few years, and I want to continue with the good things we’ve done and continue to present a professional, progressive law enforcement agency that is there to serve the community of Wyandotte County in any way we can,” Soptic said.
He said he would like to continue the positive advancements Sheriff Don Ash has made in the department and wants to keep moving forward with things Ash implemented, as well as finding other things on their own.
One of his biggest campaign issues will be to engage the community with the Sheriff’s Office, getting the community involved in the office and the office more into the community, he said. He also would like to see deputies more involved in community groups, such as Livable Neighborhoods, the school districts and other community groups, he said. He also would like to see the Sheriff’s Office more engagement with juveniles.
Soptic said he would like to continue to work with the Unified Government and the community to ensure they’re hiring quality people from the community every chance they can.
As far as crime in Wyandotte County is concerned, Soptic said it takes every public service department working together in many different ways to reduce crime. It’s more than just the patrolman answering the call for service, he said. “It takes all of us working together in all areas of the community to help reduce that crime rate,” he said.
Soptic is currently a school board member for the Turner Public Schools. He also is a board member of the Kiwanis West group.
He is a graduate of Turner High School, and received an associate degree from Kansas City Kansas Community College, a bachelor’s degree from Ottawa University, a master’s degree from the University of Kansas in business administration and organizational leadership, and he has attended the FBI National Academy in 2018.
The filing deadline for the election is in June, with the primary election on Aug. 3 and the general election, Nov. 2.
