La Crosse Sheriff says it’s a good time to retire

The timing is right for a new sheriff in La Crosse County, according to the current sheriff, who’s not seeking re-election in November.

The sheriff recently announced he won’t run again in November, and just began his 35th year in law enforcement last week.

“I think now is a good time,” Wolf told WIZM’s La Crosse Talk last Thursday. “We got a lot of energy, and staff coming up through the ranks, and I think now is a good time that we continue with all the good things we’ve done, and time to step down.”

Wolf said a good sheriff should be a good listener and have trust in his staff. He added that the three staff members who are running to succeed him are all well-qualified.

An August primary will be scheduled because there are two declared Republican candidates — Fritz Leinfelder and Marte Peterson. John Siegel is the only Democrat in the race so far.

Recruiting and keeping good law officers is a goal that Wolf wants to maintain.

Wolf said he doesn’t want to “make it into something where there’s a great deal of oversight and second-guessing everything we do, so I think that’s part of the future, is recruitment and retention, and to take a strong leader to do that as well.”