It may be 21 years later, but Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling still campaigns as he always has, he said - by taking it to the people.

"You still get out there, show people you want this job," he said.

Four years after Hailey Police Lt. Steve England lost to Femling in the Republican primary, England is again challenging Femling, this time as an independent in the main election. Femling, 51, is seeking four more years as the lead law enforcement official in the county, a job that will pay $88,000 this next year. The position oversees close to 60 employees.

It's a challenge taking on someone who's been in the position that long, England said. But he said he thinks voters will appreciate his fresh take on things, and that he can bring an energy to the job that may be missing now.

England, 33, only received 27 percent of the vote in the 2004 primary and said he was mainly looking to get his name out. Now, the former Navy electrician said he's gotten four more years of experience with the Hailey Police, serving as a patrol officer, school resource officer and now night-shift lieutenant.

England said he switched his affiliation because he believes the sheriff should be a nonpartisan job. But he also acknowledged the move keeps him out of the Republican primary and jumps him straight to the main election.

His campaign, he said, is focusing on four main issues: turnover, partnering with other emergency services agencies, improving patrol coverage in the south end of the county and upgrading salaries, training and equipment for the department.

Recent turnover in particular is a sign that administrative changes are needed, England said. Training new officers over and over means county residents don't get to know them, he said. And officer shortages mean the department has had gaps in its active patrols for "quite a few nights" recently.

The problem seems to be respect, he said, judging by what he's heard from people who left.

"They don't feel like their input's valued," he said.

That causes more problems, he said, at a time when the county is seeing more felonies and violent crimes. Curbing that rise will require the sheriff to work with other law enforcement heads in the county to be "more proactive" about drugs, for example.

England would like to see the return of the county's K-9 drug dog program, as well as more full-time narcotics detectives and other improvements. But things aren't as bad as England would like to think, Femling said.

Femling already has a couple of people working drug cases fulltime, he said. And the county's had a drug dog for years, he said - though the dog currently named on the department's Web site was given to the Rigby Police Department in July, according to the latter's site.

The drug problem, Femling said, is bigger than a K-9 program.

"We run the drug task force here, and we have been really, really successful in breaking up drug rings," he said. "You don't do that with a dog."

His department, he said, is taking other steps to fight drugs, including youth programs and programming for inmates at the county's new jail facility. Another effort targets the Latino community.

Femling said the jail is another sign of his department's health. England agreed that inmates needed a new facility, but questioned the design of the administrative offices and said many parts of the jail - but not the cell areas - were overdone.

"That's all he can talk about, I guess," Femling said.

While four patrolmen have left the department, Femling said he hasn't experienced much turnover for a long time. And he brushed aside suggestions that administration was an issue, saying instead that the problem came down to money. The deputies left, he said, because other counties offer better pay and because they can't afford to live in Blaine County.

Affordable housing, in fact, will be a big focus of his for the next couple of years, he said.

"If you spend $100,000 on a college degree, you're going to want to buy a house one day," he said.

Nate Poppino may be reached at 208-735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.