Mike Shepard and John Deree are both eyeing the seat, but the way they arrived at the courthouse doors—and the specific versions of reality they want to manage—reveal a wider split in how folks in these parts think about public service. Shepard comes to this fight with a career boiled down to legal defense and business. For decades, he’s been on the other side of the aisle in the courtroom, practicing law. That experience is a cornerstone of his campaign. He’s framing his unique background as a tool to come in from the outside and look critically at protocols. It’s not just about reading a law book; it’s about understanding the players on the field. He’s bringing a lawyer’s mindset to the bench, arguing that his peers might have gotten too cozy with the bureaucratic machine, and he’s the one here to pry the gears loose. Deree takes a different route to the same destination. His career has been rooted firmly in the public safety sector. If Shepard is the one trying the cases, Deree is the one cleaning up the messes afterward. With two decades spent in law enforcement roles across Rogers and the Sheriff’s Office, including time in corrections, Deree sees the world through the lens of enforcement and community stability. He understands the back end of the system—the incarceration, the parole, the 3 a.m. calls)—in a way a purely courtroom-focused lawyer simply doesn’t. This divergence isn’t just vanity; it plays out in their visions for what needs fixing if you step into that role. Shepard’s path suggests he wants to address the courtroom operations and procedural fairness. He is looking at the Judge’s office as a position of oversight and scrutiny. He’s interested in what happens when complex legal disputes hit the docket and how they are resolved. Deree, drawing on his time in the trenches of policing and corrections, is likely focused on the operational side of the county infrastructure. The jail overcrowding, the strain on the local justice apparatus—things that keep law enforcement heads spinning during roll call. His perspective is diplomatic but rooted in the gritty responsibility of maintaining order. Both men share a fundamental desire to serve their neighbors, but the methodbooks they’re handing out are thick and distinct. One is betting on the weight of legal experience to guide policy; the other is banking on the boots-on-the-ground reality of public safety to keep the county running. County-level issues
Source: 5News KFSM
