To the Editor:

Cook County has nothing on the McHenry County Republican Party’s political machine.

County residents should learn it doesn’t pay to vote for someone just because they have an “R” after his/her name. Bill Prim’s election opponent warned of the sordid background of Prim’s newly handpicked deputy chief of patrol, Matt McNamara.

It should be noted McNamara began working security only after leaving the Des Plaines Police Department. We might never learn the reason for that because it relates to “personnel matters.” Sheriff Prim’s judgment is badly skewed. This is an outrage perpetrated on county residents.

In 2001 in Iowa, McNamara was convicted of assault; the result of a bar fight where he choked a man. In a second fight, he is said to have punched two women in the face and dragged another woman by her hair across a parking lot. The arrest reports, which I have read, make it clear this man cannot control his rage when drinking.

In Arizona, in 2012, McNamara was arrested for DUI and said to have blown twice the legal limit. In an attempt to avoid arrest, he claimed to be a Chicago police officer, which he was not.

It’s an insult to our honest, hard-working patrol deputies to put McNamara in charge. Expect to see a rise in resignations. Will they be replaced by applicants chosen by McNamara?

Sheriff Prim, surely this appointment must be payback for McNamara’s efforts made during your election campaign. To show your honest intentions, McNamara must go.

Judith Vandenboom

Cary