WEIDMAN SEEKS 4TH TERM; EMPHASIZES WAR ON DRUGS

Weidman has served as a commissioner on the state Attorney General's
Commission on Hate Crimes.

He has served as president of the California State Sheriffs Association and
the Stanislaus County Peace Officers Association. He was a delegate at the
first Chinese-American Police Conference in Taipei, Taiwan.

Weidman holds a bachelor's degree from the University of San Francisco and
is a graduate of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.

He and his wife, Linda, live in the Hickman area. They have two grown sons,
Scott and Steve, and two grandsons, Zachary and Ryan.

Linda Weidman is a supervisor in the criminal division of the district
attorney's office and is a former sheriff's deputy.September 21, 2001 By
KERRY McCRAY and DARYL FARNSWORTH Saying the fight against methamphetamine
will continue to be one of his main objectives, Stanislaus County Sheriff
Les Weidman has announced that he will seek a fourth term.

Weidman, 53, who began his career with the Sheriff's Department as a jailer
in 1969, said he has many things he hopes to accomplish in another
four-year term.

"I'm passionate about my job, and I have an excellent department," Weidman
said. "We've been keeping up with the demands of the everyday challenges
for the past 12 years.

"We're going to try and lick the methamphetamine problem. The
methamphetamine problem is a big target, and we're going to hit the
bull's-eye. Methamphetamine has a link to most crimes."

Weidman is chairman of the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking
Area, which covers nine counties. The federally designated area is part of
a program to focus anti-drug resources on the places that need them most.

Weidman said he also intends to target high-tech crime because many
families are destroyed after being scammed by criminals using computers. He
wants to provide extensive computer training to his deputies and other staff.

The filing period for the March primary election opens Sept. 28. So far, no
one has announced plans to run against Weidman.

He won the sheriff's job in 1990, defeating Burl Condit, now a sergeant in
the Modesto Police Department. Weidman went unchallenged in 1994 and 1998.

His work in fighting methamphetamine locally and throughout the valley is
only one assignment that extends Weidman's duties beyond the Stanislaus
County border.

In the wake of last week's terrorist attacks on the East Coast, Gov. Davis
placed Weidman in charge of security and mutual aid for an 11-county area.

The sheriff also serves as vice chairman of a statewide blue-ribbon
commission that is reviewing Special Weapons and Tactics team operations.