What's more important: being in tune with police or politicians?

That's the issue facing the two candidates for Salt Lake County sheriff.

Challenger Jim Winder, a Democrat, says current Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard is out of touch with law enforcement on the street. Kennard says Winder is naive if he thinks the sheriff can ignore politics.

The job is not just about criminal-justice issues, Kennard said. It's about wrangling over budgets with the politicians on the County Council and negotiating with the mayors and city councils of five cities the sheriff's office contracts its services to.

Winder said Kennard has paid too much attention to politics while ignoring the needs and problems of his staff.

He said rank-and-file deputies feel a disconnect with Kennard, and sense he won't fix their problems.

"Aaron Kennard really has not focused on the officers' behalf," Winder said. "The same problems go unresolved for years. They want a leader who will look out for the organization."

Kennard said it's not that simple.

"He thinks he's going to be a captain, not a politician. He hasn't got a clue," Kennard said of his opponent.

However, Kennard contends that his political involvement doesn't mean he is "out of touch" with his employees. The current sheriff said he "works the street" once or twice a month on watch command and routinely visits the jail and courts.

Kennard said he has 16 years of balancing the politics with the public safety issues in the county and wants to continue for another four years.

He is using that political know-how in negotiations with five county cities over the possibility of creating a Unified Police Department. Under that model, the cities and unincorporated areas governed by the county could pool police services at the lowest possible cost.

The idea came up after two cities ended their policing contracts with the county and started their own police departments. Kennard said he wanted to come up with a way to bring the county the "stability of long-term police protection."

Deputies are afraid they might lose their jobs or see a reduction in benefits if the UPD is created, Kennard said. Still, "it's in the best interest of the citizens to do what we're doing."

Winder disagrees. He said the sheriff should focus on building up the sheriff's office, not creating a separate, countywide police department.

There wouldn't be a need for a UPD if the cities were happy with the service provided by the sheriff's office, Winder said. If elected, Winder said he would improve service levels by establishing clear pricing levels so the cities know what they are paying for when they hire the sheriff's office to provide police protection.