Incumbent Tammy Weckler-Sternard, Republican Curt Vandertie and independent Randy Wagner agree Door County shouldn't sign a 287(g) agreement. The campaign has turned on a union no-confidence vote and released personnel files.
Door County voters will pick a sheriff Nov. 3 from three candidates who all say they won't sign an immigration enforcement agreement with ICE. What separates them is a fight over personnel files: a deputies' union vote of no confidence in the incumbent, a 2022 suspension of the Republican nominee, and 16 years of Denver complaint records for the independent, made public through open records requests or by the candidates themselves in the weeks before the election.
Democratic Sheriff Tammy Weckler-Sternard, elected in 2018 and unopposed in 2022, faces Republican Curt Vandertie, a patrol deputy in her own office, and independent Randy Wagner, a retired Denver police detective. Vandertie beat fellow Republican Carl Waterstreet, the office's professional standards captain, in the Aug. 11 primary. Primary turnout in the county reached 9,743, up from 7,475 in 2022, according to Door County Knock. Absentee voting is already underway for the general election.
The incumbent's trouble surfaced in June, when the Door County Deputy Sheriffs' Association sent Weckler-Sternard a letter dated June 1 enclosing a resolution of no confidence. The union cited staffing shortages that drove "excessive overtime" and sank morale at the county jail, her absence from major incidents and monthly public safety meetings, and an "overwhelming lack of trust," WPR reported. The letter also referenced the shooting of a feral pig, according to FOX 11, among other incidents.
Weckler-Sternard called the letter a series of mischaracterizations and baseless allegations, and said she didn't recall the union raising most of them with her before, apart from jail staffing. The county's administrative committee took no action. Corporation Counsel Sean Donohue told WPR the county can't remove a sheriff. Under state law, the governor can remove one for cause, and voters can recall one, WPR noted.
In a Peninsula Pulse candidate questionnaire published Sept. 24, the sheriff said human resources confirmed there are no substantiated complaints or discipline in her file. She blamed part of the hiring problem on conditions outside the department, citing Door County's lack of affordable housing and child care for young families.
Records the Pulse and NBC 26 obtained show Vandertie was suspended without pay for 12 days on March 9, 2022, and removed from supervisor and field training duties. The discipline cited nine violations. NBC 26 reported they included 542 minutes of personal business on the clock, among them time at his children's sporting events and at the Brussels-Union-Gardner Fire Department, where he is chief, and a finding that he violated the anti-harassment policy by allegedly yelling at a female deputy.
Vandertie, who has spent 17 years as a deputy, told the Pulse he informed the sheriff in 2022 that he planned to run against her and was suspended shortly after. Donohue rejected that account. He told the Pulse the investigation began as a probe of another deputy, that the sheriff didn't start it, and that corporation counsel and human resources were involved throughout. "That couldn't be further from the truth," Donohue said.
Vandertie declined an NBC 26 interview. In statements, he said he disagreed with the process but accepted the discipline, and that his evaluations before and after the incident praised his professionalism, Door County Daily News reported. The same documents also surfaced on a Facebook page called "Corruption in Door County," according to the outlet.
Wagner, who is semi-retired and works as a transport deputy for the Brown County Sheriff's Office, gave the Pulse the 30 complaints Denver police received about him from 2001 through 2017. Most ended with no finding or discipline. He received three oral reprimands, two written reprimands and a four-day suspension over an allegation of inappropriate force, which the Pulse dated to November 2017 and NBC 26 reported as 2018. Wagner said the suspect was handcuffed but fighting officers. He told NBC 26 he was "fairly disgusted" that Vandertie's statement framed himself as a victim.
Weckler-Sternard and Wagner both told Door County Daily News this summer that residents ask them about immigration. In the Pulse questionnaire, Weckler-Sternard said she has not entered a 287(g) agreement, which deputizes local officers for federal immigration work. Vandertie said he would not support one, citing liability, legal authority and taxpayer costs, but would notify federal authorities about people jailed for serious or violent crimes. Wagner said he wouldn't seek an agreement and would honor lawful ICE holds.
That consensus sets Door County apart from its neighbors. ICE's list of participating agencies, updated Oct. 9, shows 21 Wisconsin sheriff's offices with 287(g) agreements, including Brown, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Outagamie and Winnebago counties. Door County isn't on it. In Winnebago County, the open sheriff's race doubles as a vote on that agreement, with the Democrat promising to end it.
The winner takes office in January for a four-year term and inherits a 2027 budget the county board will have already adopted, as Vandertie noted in his questionnaire. Each candidate has pledged to fix recruiting and retention, the problem at the center of the union's complaint. Voters can check registration and request absentee ballots through MyVote Wisconsin before the Nov. 3 election.
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