Travis Allen, the school board member, and Travis Allen, the sheriff candidate, have sent different messages, but it’s the same person.

First, the claim that makes him the preferred candidate as sheriff is his 23 years of service within the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. However, a qualified candidate with over 20 years of experience within the Rowan-Salisbury School System was a candidate for superintendent, but he chose an outsider. So, do years of service only matter when it applies to himself?

Secondly, how does an ethical officer work alongside someone who knowingly has a stolen firearm and does nothing about it? Does this level of unethical, immoral or above-the-law mindset resonate throughout the entire department or just the Criminal Investigation Division? Based on the conduct, it may have deeper roots. For example, this stolen weapon was owned by someone he worked alongside in the Sheriff’s Office for over two years.

Third, as a school board member, he used his position to shape a message that he hoped would garner support later. The Department of Human and Health Services and Governor’s Office are ones that oversee mandates, and he and the board should be aware of this fact. The stance he took was in the hope that people would think he’s fighting for their right to choose when, in fact, he was lying; he never had that ability or authority.

Fourth and lastly, the handling of the closing of the Faith and Enochville schools. He and the board held meetings during the pandemic that restricted the ability of both communities to be heard, leaving many residents disenfranchised and untrusting of the process.

Misleading and misdirection seem to be a habit and method of operation for Allen.

— Bill Allen

Salisbury