Lincoln County sheriff announces he will not seek re-election, throws support to his administrative lieutenant

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews

Curtis Landers, who started as a records and property clerk in the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office 37 years ago and rose to lead the agency for the past seven years announced Wednesday he would not seek a third term as sheriff.

Landers was appointed by county commissioners to the vacant position in June 2016, elected for the first time five months later and re-elected in 2020, running unopposed both times.

Landers, 57, threw his support for sheriff to Lt. Adam Shanks, who has been his administrative lieutenant the past seven years. Shanks started with the sheriff’s department in 1997 as a patrol deputy.

Landers said his decision to not seek re-election was made “with mixed emotions.”

“Obviously, I did not make a decision overnight,” he told YachatsNews in an interview Wednesday night. “It’s been turning over in my head … and developing a succession plan.”

But in a news release Wednesday, Landers said “ … it is the right time for our agency and for me personally.”

“I believe it is time for a new leader to guide our sheriff’s office forward and build upon the foundation we’ve laid,” he said in the statement.

And with that, he threw his support to Shanks – who announced at the same time he would file to run in the May primary election.

No one else has publicly expressed interest in running for sheriff or filed their candidacy. The filing deadline is March 12 for the May 21 primary.

The sheriff’s office has a $17.6 million yearly budget with 100 employees spread out over everything from the jail, a civil division, animal control, to emergency management and patrol.

The last contested sheriff’s race was in November 2012, when Sheriff Dennis Dotson easily won a third term. It was Landers who replaced Dotson in 2016.

Landers started with the sheriff’s office in 1987 as a records and property clerk, became a corrections deputy two years later and then a patrol deputy in 1991. He was a patrol sergeant from 1997-2005, when he became the administrative lieutenant for Dotson.

In 2021 Landers was named Oregon’s sheriff of the year by the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association.

Although scandal-free, Landers’ seven years in office has been marked by backlash against law enforcement in metropolitan areas of the country that filtered down to rural communities, the 2-year-long Covid pandemic and the recruiting, training and rebuilding staff. In May 2018, voters turned down a property tax levy that would have raised $3.6 million a year to resume 24/7 patrols, hire more jail staff and develop corrections programs, and add two detectives.

But Landers and court administrators were able to institute an element of that levy – a pretrial justice program to reduce the forced releases of inmates caused by jail overcrowding.

Landers said Wednesday that program was one of the highlights of his time in office.

“Covid really changed things a lot,” he told YachatsNews. “We have a whole group of deputies who don’t know how we did things pre-Covid. But I see us coming out of it, I do.”

While Landers emphasized he has 11 months left in office, he’s looking forward to a change of pace – as is his wife, Jennifer.

“Now we can really plan and we have 11 months to do it,” he said. “I love my job, but life is precious.”

Shanks announces run

Shanks, 48, is a home-grown sheriff’s department employee. He is a graduate of Newport High School and a resident of the county since 1983.

He started with the sheriff’s office as a summer marine cadet in 1995 while attending Lane Community College. He was hired as a patrol deputy in 1997, was assigned to Waldport for a year and coordinated the department’s reserve program for two years. He became a sergeant in the patrol division in 2005, where he managed the field training program, scheduling, career training for patrol deputies, the canine program, and supervised the search and rescue team.

In 2017, Shanks was promoted to administrative lieutenant under Landers, and is responsible for obtaining and administering grants, overseeing the emergency management division, the emergency radio communications system, developing policies and procedures, training program management, budget development and management.

In 2019, Shanks was recognized as the sheriff’s office employee of the year.

“I look forward to connecting further with our community through this process,” Shanks said in his candidacy announcement. “We have many diverse communities with different needs and desires in the law enforcement services they receive. I have been fortunate to build many community partnerships throughout Lincoln County and am committed to serving all of our residents and visitors in an equitable and respectful manner.”