Burdel Welsh, a Kansas lawman will be the new West Wendover Chief of Police.
Welsh, 57, was appointed by Mayor Emily Carter Tuesday and unanimously endorsed by the city council in Tuesdays meeting.
A 35 year veteran of law enforcement Welsh hails from Tonganoxie, Kansas a city of about 5,000 in Leavenworth county. In an election profile he submitted to the Tonganoxie Mirror in 2009 (reprinted below) Welsh wrote that he spent most of his career with the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Department leaving in 2005 as Under Sheriff.
After 2005 he was served as Police chief of Lake Quivira, Kansas and in 2009 was elected to the city council of Tonganoxie. In 2010 Welsh resign his council seat and left Kansas to become Deputy Chief of Police at the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site (RTS), formerly known as Kwajalein Missile Range on the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. 
The atoll lies in the Ralik Chain, 2,100 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. The population of Kwajalein Island is currently around 1,000 individuals, mostly Americans and a small number of Marshall Islanders and other nationals, all of whom have express permission from the U.S. Army to live there
In 2012 Welsh returned to Tonganoxie to run for Leavenworth County Sheriff. He lost the race and when the West Wendover chief’s job opened up with the retirement of Ron Supp in November was one of 45 candidates who submitted an application.
In several areas Tonganoxie is quite similar to West Wendover. It population at 5,000 is about the same and the town also has one high school, one middle school and one elementary school. It like West Wendover is also the third largest community in Leavenworth County which is also dominated by a much larger city that is the county seat and shares the same name with the county as Elko does here.
With Leavenworth county bordering the Kansas/Missouri state line, Welsh certainly has experience in interstate relations that often bedevil law enforcement operations.
But while the two cities have much in common there are some important differences. Tonganoxie is by no means a tourist town. It was illegal to even buy a drink in Leavenworth county until the late 1980’s. And while Kansas does have a handful of legal casinos none are close to Tonganoxie.
Wendover on the other hand lives or dies by the entertainment industry. Boasting five major casino/resorts and a have a dozen of hotels on the Utah side the casino industry directly employs over 80 percent of the workforce including there of the five West Wendover City Councilmen and the mayor. While Tonganoxie population stays relatively stable year round, Wendover’s can swell up to four times or more its size during the weekends especially during the peak summer months.
Supp, his predecessor, angered the casino industry by setting up tourist jay walking stings and by proposing all alcohol servers including bartenders and cocktail waitresses and waiters undergo police back ground checks. The cost of which would have cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Another major difference is in demographics. According to the 2010 census Tonganoxie is over 95 percent white and English speaking with less than four percent of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino.
West Wendover is a minority/majority community according to the same census with over 60 percent of its population identifying as Latino/Hispanic. And relations between the local police and the Hispanic community have been severely strained.
In 2011 Supp alienated the Hispanic community by having his officers actively participate in raid by Immigration that came with an assault helicopter. The action virtually shut down Wendover and led to the arrest of just ten suspects. Two of whom were released the same day after they could prove they were not illegal aliens.
The animosity that raid created may explain why when a serial petty criminal Trucker Morales slipped his bonds and escaped police custody after his arrest a year later he became a something of folk hero allegedly aided in his 30 days on the lam by the community.
There are currently no Hispanic officers in the West Wendover police Department.
The new chief’s biggest challenge might however be with the business community. Supp and his officers often tangled with many of them most prominently the owner of the local strip club and the owner of the adult book/video/ lingerie store.
Supp’s fight were not however just contained to the sin businesses he went head to head against the Wendover Ambulance company and then complained to the city council about the ‘unfair’ coverage he was receiving from the High Desert Advocate.
In His Own Words, New WWPD Chief Burdel Welsh
(Editors note the following was originally published in the Tonganoxie Mirror in 2009. we are republishing it to give our readers some insight into the new police chief of West Wendover)
Age: 52
Family: Married for 31 years to Cynthia Welsh, father of Jim Welsh (29) of Lawrence and Brian Welsh (26) of Tonganoxie. Both sons went through the Tonganoxie school system and graduated from Tonganoxie High School. Cynthia is the Treasurer/Business Manager for Trinity Lutheran Church, Leavenworth and Basehor Campuses. Jim is a police officer for the City of Lawrence. Brian is a police officer for the City of Leavenworth and an EMT-I and volunteer firefighter for the City of Tonganoxie.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix, and scheduled to complete a Master of Business Administration in May 2009 from the University of Phoenix. Numerous other occupational related certifications.
Occupation: Chief of Police, Lake Quivira, Kansas in Johnson and Wyandotte Counties
Political and government experience: Thirty-three years of government employment, serving with the Atchison County Sheriff’s Department as deputy and acting undersheriff; civilian employee for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Topeka; deputy sheriff with the Leavenworth County Sheriff’s Office; director of Leavenworth County Emergency Management; police officer for the University of Kansas, Lawrence; undersheriff for Leavenworth County; and chief of police for Lake Quivira.
Clubs or organizations: Sec-Treasurer for the Johnson County Police Chiefs and Sheriffs Association, Member National Rifle Association, Wyandotte County Law Enforcement Professionals, Kansas Peace Officers Association, and Kansas Chiefs of Police Association.
Why are you running for a council seat?
Two qualified candidates had filed for re-election, but no one had filed for the third opening. I felt it was an opportunity to serve the community, and if someone else filed, the voters would have more than one candidate to choose from in the election. I hope my education and experience will make me one of their choices on election day.
What is your top priority for Tonganoxie and why?
My top priority is to develop a good working relationship with the other members of the city council. One vote will accomplish nothing. A council member must have the confidence and support of the other council members to swing the vote on issues. I recognize the experience and education that other members of the council bring to the table. I hope they will learn to trust and support my judgment. Together, we can face the current economic issues facing business and government and make the best decisions. Tonganoxie needs a strong team to lead the city forward.
What qualifications should voters know about you?
I have been a resident of Tonganoxie since 1991 and a Leavenworth County resident since 1978. Through the Sheriff’s Office, I worked in and around Tonganoxie, even when I did not live here. This has given me an historical perspective of where Tonganoxie has been and the direction it is going. Besides working for government, my wife and I have owned and operated small retail businesses for 27 years. This experience gives me another perspective on the issues facing the city and businesses. I hope my practical business experience, along with my education, will help me to formulate good decisions with the council.
What is the most pressing issue facing the city and how do you propose to take care of it?
I believe the economy is foremost on everyone’s mind. The news media puts the financial situation in front of us many times each day. The knee-jerk reaction is to close the doors and stop spending, but we must find a way to live within our budget and keep the doors of Tonganoxie open, seeking growth and new opportunity within our means. I believe we will come through the current economic downturn and we must be positioned to take advantage of the good times ahead.
What should the city do when it is facing cuts in revenue and slower growth?
The city must find a way to operate within its means, but keep the momentum moving forward in a positive direction. Some cuts have been made by the current council and these cuts will need to be re-evaluated on a regular basis. More cuts may be necessary, or some projects may be restored. Major capital projects must be timed to take advantage of the limited state and federal funds available. This may mean moving forward with projects in a time when some will say we should not be doing anything. Foregoing the opportunity to obtain state and federal funding will only cost more in the long term.
