Election 2026: Candidate for Washington County Sheriff Max Greene
As the 2026 general election approaches, The Washington County Times is publishing written interviews with candidates in contested races affecting Washington County.
The Times reached out to all candidates for whom we were able to obtain contact information and invited them to participate. If you are a candidate in a contested race and have not received an invitation, please contact us so we can make sure you have an opportunity to participate.
Candidates were provided with questions tailored to their campaign, personal history, and the office they are seeking. We encouraged candidates to answer the questions in their own words and to refrain from using ChatGPT or other artificial intelligence tools when preparing their responses.
All candidate responses have been published as submitted, without editing or alteration. The Washington County Times does not endorse political candidates, and any opinions or statements expressed within the following interview are the candidate's own.
Why are you running for Washington County Sheriff, and what do you believe the Sheriff's Office needs from its next sheriff?
All the County Flock Cameras, or Any Surveillance Cameras for that Matter, are Gone Day One. No Warrantless Surveillance Technologies that violate our Constitutional Rights.
Rent those Beds. The County spent Millions of Dollars to build the extension on the Jail over 10 years ago to have extra “beds” to rent to other Counties with Jail crowding issues. The extra income can go to supplement the salaries of our hard-working Officers.
Overhaul the Commissary Fund for Safety and Not Profit. The Commissary is there as a safety tool that keeps drugs and other dangerous items from being smuggled into the jail. The current Commissary is being used as a for Profit situation on a captive population. This needs to fixed.
Transparency and Accountability through clear HR Policies that not only address the Sexcapades, but the other Human Resource issues within the Sheriff’s Department. Many of the troubling problems that we have seen in the Sheriff’s Department over the last decade are not “Law Enforcement Experience” issues. The Sheriff’s Department work environment should be the safest place in the County, but they have proven over the years that it is one of the most dangerous.
Our Officers will be held to the same standards as our community, no more coverups. There was a very dramatic example of this problem during this last Primary. One of the Republican Sheriff Candidates is a County Deputy that was in a domestic incident on December 6, 2022, that the Salem Police deescalated. The current Prosecutor has chosen to suppress that official report even though multiple requests have been submitted. I am not saying that this issue with the County Deputy is the main problem here. The main problem is that this incident was covered up by both the Sheriff and the Prosecutor.
A Citizen Merit Board for Trust and Accountability with no Favoritism. A Citizen Merit Board should have a much different perspective than a Merit Board made up of fellow Law Enforcement Experienced Individuals. Bring the Community back into the Sheriff’s Department.
No One is Above the Law, Not Even Our Public Officials. Breaking the Law is Breaking the Law. It doesn’t matter if you are a Public Official or a Citizen in our Community, the Law applies to everyone equally.
What do you believe is the biggest public safety challenge facing Washington County, and how would you address it?
Corruption by our Local Government Officials.
A great example is the County Zoning Board which has not been a legal board for the past 11 years.
What this means is that this County Zoning Board cannot pass any legal ordinances to protect us because the ordinances that they do pass can be overturned in Court.
Currently, the Commissioners passed a one-year Countywide moratorium to protect us from Data Center overreach. But once that is gone, if we do not have a legal County Zoning Board in place to pass legal ordinances, we will have no protection. We will lose in Court every time.
Indiana Code states if we fail to follow all the procedures in accordance with the Law it is grounds to have ordinance decisions overturned in Court.
We cannot continue to deceive the public into believing that we are writing ordinances to protect the County while knowingly laying the groundwork to be overturned in Court.
It is a waste of time, money and public trust.
Washington County continues to deal with drug-related crime. What do you believe is the most effective balance between enforcement, treatment and prevention?
As Sheriff, I will be a State Mandated member of the County JRAC Board that is handling the County Opioid Settlement funds (which I believe are around $400,000 right now).
We should use these funds for their mandated purposes to rehabilitate and facilitate treatment for those most affected by the Opioid Crises in our County.
Also, one of the best things that I can do is look at the other Counties that have had more success in treatment, intervention, and that have lowered the repeat offender revolving door of incarceration. You don’t have to “invent the wheel” every time to get a good program going in the County. Rely on Proven Law Enforcement Experience that works.
You have been publicly vocal about areas where you believe Washington County government could operate better. What specific changes would you bring to the Sheriff's Office's management and accountability?
IC 36-2-13-5 – The Sheriff Shall: Arrest without process persons who commit an offense within the Sheriff’s view, take them before a court of the County having jurisdiction, and detain them in custody until cause of the arrest has been investigated.
As Sheriff, when I attend a County Meeting (which includes the County Zoning Board) and if they are breaking the law I am mandated by the State to take action.
No One is Above the Law, Not Even Our County Officials.
The Sheriff's Office oversees the county jail. What changes, if any, would you make to jail operations?
Rent those Beds and ask the County Council to use this Out-of-County Revenue as incentives to reduce Staff turnover.
This would benefit the County by NOT raising Washington County Taxes and by using these funds based on the additional workload.
This would require the Sheriff to work for the money – not just ask for additional Washington County appropriations.
Compensating the employees based on the workload, and not by a general pay increase, would keep the Department within the County Budget in the event that the Beds were not Rented.
How would you approach recruiting, retaining and training deputies while working within the county’s budget? What experience do you have that you feel has prepared you for these organizational responsibilities?
I will rely on my Military Experience and my time as a Supervisor at Netshape overseeing the Machine Room that ran 3 shifts a day – 7 days a week to create new HR policies and a Citizen Merit Board.
In my experience, your people will want to come to work if you have clear and fair policies that all your people see are followed with accountability and fairness.
I believe recruiting won’t be an issue when new people see that unprofessional and inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated, covered up or swept under the rug.
What role should technology such as Flock cameras and license-plate readers play in Washington County, and what limits should be placed on their use?
All the County Flock Cameras, or Any Surveillance Cameras for that Matter, are Gone Day One.
As a veteran, I cannot condone warrantless searches after so many who have gone before me have fought and died to protect our constitutional rights.
The exact wording of the Fourth Amendment is:
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
These Flock (or Surveillance) Cameras do not make us safer. The argument that has been made about protecting the community is flawed. Much of the time, the information is wrong and there have been many instances when innocent people have been pulled over at gun point.
A man in a raincoat with no pants following your daughter around – photographing and sharing her every movement with God knows who – would be less offensive than what we have now. Because you would be able to see and identify what is going on and have him behind bars instantly.
With Flock Cameras, you can’t tell who is watching you and your family, what their intent is, and what they are doing with your information. Our tax dollars shouldn’t be funding this type of activity.
I believe that these Flock (or Surveillance) Cameras make us much less safe. I believe that for every story of abuse, there are hundreds of bad or worse abuse stories not being reported.
Your wife, Rhonda Greene, is also running for county office. How would you maintain appropriate independence between the Sheriff's Office and the Auditor's office if both of you are elected?
First of all, the office of Auditor is a non-management position. Legally, the Auditor cannot write a check without the Commissioners’ and Council’s approval (even though this seems to have been happening in the current Auditor’s office).
The Auditor is supposed to bring all of the County information together and to support the other County Offices, Towns and Organizations to make sure that they are following the laws and regulations and reporting back to the State.
I don’t really see a way that we would have a problem maintaining appropriate independence between the Offices. There is really no intersection between these two offices that would allow corruption to take place. Now, I will give you this, I don’t normally think that way anyway. There might be a way to personally benefit, but I don’t know what that could be.
Rhonda and I have been married almost 40 years and yes, she is bossy. We have been known to bark orders at each other with mutual respect. But we love and care for each other, our family and our community.
If elected, what is the first major change you would make as sheriff?
All the County Flock Cameras, or Any Surveillance Cameras for that Matter, are Gone Day One.
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