POCATELLO — Allegations of misconduct swirling around the Power County Sheriff’s Office have turned the race for the top law enforcement post contentious, with the primary election just days away.

Republican candidates Kasey Kendall, Jesse Johnston and Michael Porter are all vying for the seat.

Porter, a retired detective sergeant with 28 years at the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle, brings the most extensive law enforcement experience.

Kendall, in his 20th year with the Power County Sheriff’s Office, offers deep familiarity with the department and community.

Johnston, a decorated Army veteran and paramedic, brings military and emergency services experience alongside pointed criticism of the current administration.

Races in small counties covering American Falls and the surrounding area are typically cordial and without much controversy.

But that backdrop of competing credentials has been complicated by allegations of misconduct and abuse of power within the sheriff’s office, with pending litigation now looming over the race.

Johnston filed a tort claim April 12 against the sheriff’s department seeking $100,000 in damages for an incident that occurred in December 2025.

The claim asserts that Power County Deputy Cash Cordona, acting under color of his official authority and in uniform, told a third party that Johnston had murdered his wife, Holly Jo Johnston.

Johnston says the allegation was categorically false and that his wife, a U.S. military veteran, died by suicide in 2017 after a documented struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“That was a major issue reported to Sheriff Campbell a week before his resignation, which he assigned to Kasey Kendall,” Johnston said. “I filed a tort claim against the Power County Sheriff’s Office for the actions of the deputy and the inaction of the current administration. I filed a letter to the attorney general’s office asking them to investigate due to election interference, because as a candidate for the office of sheriff, I walk around town and I hear people saying to me, ‘Oh, we heard that you’re the person that murdered your wife’ — and that’s a major problem.”

Johnston also submitted a formal inquiry to the Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training academy, known as POST, requesting a review of the deputy’s conduct on grounds of conduct unbecoming an officer, including whether it warrants decertification.

Kendall, the acting Power County Sheriff following Campbell’s resignation, declined to comment about the pending litigation due to the active tort claim. He urged voters to research the candidates and be well informed before casting their ballots May 19.

Michael Porter

Porter grew up in Idaho Falls and attended Idaho State University, where he earned a certificate in law enforcement and POST certification and worked for the ISU campus police for two years as a student. He then moved to the West Coast, serving 28 years with the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle and retiring as a detective sergeant. He supervised the fugitive recovery unit, with approximately 600 deputies under his direction.

Porter says he always intended to return to Idaho and purchased a home in American Falls just over two years ago.

“I decided to run for sheriff since I have quite a bit more experience than the other candidates here,” Porter said. “I’m not happy with some of the things I see around here. I don’t see the sheriff’s office at all. The only time I ever see one of their cars is when it’s parked in the median on the freeway. I don’t see them doing traffic stops or talking to people or really doing anything, which kind of bothers me. I’ve talked to some people who used to work there, and others in the area, and they kind of say the same thing.”

Transparency is also a priority for Porter. He thinks Power County could adopt something similar to the Pocatello Police Department’s weekly blotter covering arrests, traffic stops and general statistics.

In researching the department, Porter said he found that four deputies have been decertified by the state since 2012.

“That is an unheard-of number for such a small department — that’s like having a fourth of their department decertified,” Porter said. “I worked with 600 deputies and I can remember maybe one or two over 20 years, out of 600. That indicates a pretty serious problem with supervision, leadership and integrity. I think three out of four were related to sexual misconduct on duty — things like touching prisoners in the jail. That raised some serious issues with me.”

Porter believes he could deliver quality training to officers, something he has done throughout most of his career. He also wants to address area drug activity, traffic violations and DUI enforcement.

“I know how to motivate people,” Porter said. “I’ve trained people and I work hard. I set an example. I don’t ask anybody to do something I wouldn’t do — and that would be my plan as sheriff. I’d be a working sheriff. I would not be sitting in an office, hiding from the public.”

On recruiting and retention, Porter proposes assigning a media relations officer to engage with the press and public and serve as an active recruiter. He also suggests reaching out to ISU’s law enforcement program and other area schools.

“If we provide better training, better supervision and better working conditions, people will want to work here,” Porter said. “It’s never been about money for me. You don’t get into law enforcement for the money, but if you don’t trust or respect the people you work for, you’re not going to stay there. I think I can do a much more effective job than has been done here in the past.”

Kasey Kendall

Kendall is in his 20th year with the Power County Sheriff’s Office. He started in the jail for more than six years before moving into a patrol supervisor role, later transitioned into investigations and was appointed chief deputy in 2021, a position he held until being promoted to sheriff in March. He holds five POST certificates and has completed detention, patrol and marine patrol academies.

Kendall says he is running not to retain his position but because he cares about the residents and families of Power County.

“I’ve been a Power County resident my entire life,” Kendall said. “I grew up in this community and raised children in this community — the Power County Sheriff’s Office, the Power County community, does mean something to me. I want to be a part of growing the success and the future of not just Power County, but also the sheriff’s office as well.”

Among his top priorities, Kendall cites staffing, improved officer training and reinstating the inmate labor detail program.

“The biggest thing right now is staffing,” Kendall said. “We’re down about four positions. We are in the process of interviewing people for those roles. Then, in a similar vein, are creative recruitment and retention strategies, staying on top of budgets and things to ensure that the deputies are making a competitive wage in the southeast Idaho law enforcement job market.”

Kendall also wants to grow the department’s total staff to qualify for membership in the Idaho Sheriff’s Association.

“I would like to re-implement the sheriff’s commissioner inmate labor detail program, to work with the courts, prosecutors and probation for those eligible for an alternative sentence — to maybe complete some of their time in the community, helping local groups, picking up litter, that kind of thing,” Kendall said.

Kendall also plans to adjust shift coverage and scheduling to improve safety both on patrol and within the jail.

Jesse Johnston

Johnston is a retired Army veteran who completed three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. He previously served as a Bannock County deputy and was among the last officers of the Inkom Police Department before it was disbanded. For the past eight years, he has worked full time as a paramedic with Power County EMS and is qualified as an advanced EMS and EMT instructor. Johnston has also owned three businesses in southeast Idaho over the past six years and says he brings a multifaceted background to the race.

Johnston says he feels compelled to run for several reasons.

“I love helping people,” Johnston said. “I see what’s going on in the county, in the sheriff’s office, and what I see is a major lack of leadership and a lack of transparency, a lack of accountability. We have a lot of problems here.”

Among his concerns are staffing shortages, too few deputies on the road and questions about how taxpayer money is being spent. A central focus for Johnston is transparency — keeping citizens informed on pressing issues, even when the news is uncomfortable.

“I plan on living the rest of my life here in Power County,” Johnston said. “I have a background of 24 years in service — between the military, law enforcement and EMS. I’m in a position where I could come in and help transform this department and this agency into something better than what it is.”

Johnston’s goals include restoring public trust in the sheriff’s office, ensuring consistent reporting and improving public access to the department. Drawing on firsthand experience with the toll of illicit drugs such as fentanyl, he also hopes to crack down on illegal drugs, update the local jail and bring back the labor detail program.

“I want to be a sheriff that is out and about, shoulder to shoulder with the public, that is listening to concerns, that is in the restaurants, that is in the grocery store, that’s in the gas station,” Johnston said. “That’s out with the ranchers and with the highway district and with the people that are having the problems. Listening to their concerns and informing solutions and executing what my plan will be — to move forward as a community, taking a proactive stance on the crime here.”

For more information on the May 19 election, visit VoteIdaho.gov.