Peters Township veteran to run for Washington County sheriff

A Peters Township veteran plans to run for Washington County sheriff on the Republican ticket in November.
Jeffrey Ladisic, a retired first sergeant in the U.S. Army, announced his candidacy Monday.
“My Army career filled me not only with a sense of service, but an understanding that public office, especially in law enforcement, requires a level of trust and responsibility from elected officials,” Ladisic said in a news release. “It’s not enough to comply with the basics. Elected officials need to answer to a higher standard.”
Ladisic, 38, who graduated from Bethlehem-Center High School in 2000, served 20 years in the Army and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He did a tour in Afghanistan, “searching for al-Qaeda targets of opportunities and counterintelligence missions,” and a tour in Iraq, where he was injured during combat.
“The experience of leading soldiers into battle and guiding deputies in the war on crime share some important connections,” Ladisic said. “In both roles, coordination, guidance and strong leadership can make the difference between success and failure, even life and death.”
Ladisic, who resides in Peters with his wife, Wendy, and their children, is an operations manager at an Amazon facility in Crafton. He also holds a Regent’s Bachelor of Arts at West Virginia University, where he majored in history.
In his campaign announcement, Ladisic promised to bring change, “modernization,” partnerships with local law enforcement agencies and “conservative principles” to the sheriff’s office.
“For too many years, we’ve had this go-along, get-along way of doing business in county government,” Ladisic said. “We’ve moved to put an end to the soft corruption of the old boy network in other offices, and it’s time to do the same with the county’s top law enforcement agency.”