“Who are you voting for?” is a common question this time of year, but it bears noting that it carries two meanings.
The first relates to the name next to the oval that you fill in on your ballot. Candidate X, Y or Z and their affiliated party. The second meaning is just who is that person – their background, their political philosophies, their track record of public service.
It’s that second meaning that is most compelling in a series of MLive stories in the past week written by Gus Burns, a member of MLive’s investigative reporting team. Burns highlighted Dar Leaf, the so-called “constitutional sheriff” in Barry County, a largely rural area between Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Lansing.
I say “so-called” because “constitutional sheriff” is not what is going to be written on the ballot for Barry County voters when Leaf runs for re-election this fall. It’ll just say “sheriff.”
Rather, it’s a philosophy that sheriffs are the primal element of law enforcement in the United States and have ultimate authority within their jurisdictions.
“Constitutional sheriffs believe they outrank the federal government,” said John Counts, editor of MLive’s investigative team. “This has an Old West feel to it for many people – but in extreme conservative circles is a pretty common refrain.”
There’s no evidence that day-to-day, run-of-the-mill law enforcement in Barry County differs that much from Michigan’s other 82 counties. Except the part where Leaf continues to investigate “voter fraud” in his county, four years after the last presidential election.
MLive would have written a preview story on the sheriff’s race in Barry County, which is contested this year with several primary challengers for Leaf. But his involvement with a national constitutional sheriff’s group and his ongoing voter fraud investigation made us take a deeper look.
“We wanted to find out what being a constitutional sheriff meant. We wanted to find out why Leaf is still on this never-ending quest to prove election fraud and if he was benefiting from it in some way – he says he’s not,” Counts said.
“We wanted to know more about Dar Leaf as a person. Not much was written about his past. He’s a colorful character who is impacting Michigan and we wanted to know what made him tick.”
Part of that means giving him the opportunity to share his viewpoints and beliefs. Burns, who is a straightforward and disarming reporter, got the media-shy Leaf to agree to far-ranging interviews about his personal background, political viewpoints and past actions, such as associations with some of the men charged with a kidnap plot against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
By the way, two of those men – who ultimately were acquitted – are running for public office in Michigan this year, and Burns also got them to open up in interviews about what motivated them to become political candidates.
In essence, it’s the same kind of anti-government sentiments and philosophies as espoused by Leaf, whom they both say they admire. One of those hopefuls, William Null, was among the armed militia members who entered the state Capitol in September 2019 to protest coronavirus stay-home orders, intimidating lawmakers in the process.
You may have an opinion about all of this, one way or another. But one element of in-depth reporting is letting the subjects speak for themselves and show you who they are, what they believe and what they plan to do if elected.
“Norm-challenging, extreme politics filters from the top down to local offices,” said Counts. “Just because you hear people talking about these ideas doesn’t make the ideas any less extreme. Ultimately, the public should be aware of the kinds of ideas that are fueling their officials.”
How you fill in the oval is your decision. But do it informed: Follow all of MLive’s state and local coverage of races and candidates by clicking here and bookmarking this page. Also, to see a full ballot for your voting precinct and read candidate bios and issue statements, visit the MLive/League of Women Voters election guide by clicking here.
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