CORVALLIS — After more than five years leading the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Jef Van Arsdall has decided not to seek re-election, choosing instead to return to eastern Oregon to be closer to his adult children.
Van Arsdall, who was appointed to the position in early 2021 by the Benton County Board of Commissioners and later won election to a full term, said the decision came down to family.
“I’ve got to be honest with you — I miss my kids,” Van Arsdall said. “My wife and I sat down — we’ve been married for over 30 years and we’ve always done everything as a team — and at the end of the day, it boiled down to our kids. We want to be around our kids.”
His children live in Baker County where Van Arsdall previously served as undersheriff before being appointed to head the Benton County office. With his daughter married and his son engaged, he said the pull of family has grown stronger.
“My daughter’s married and my son’s getting married and we are going to have grandkids eventually, so I just want to be around my kids more,” he said.
Van Arsdall’s term expires at the end of 2026. Sgt. Scott Bressler filed for the May 19 primary election but since he was the only candidate for sheriff, he will advance directly to the November general election.
Van Arsdall was candid that the decision to step away is a personal one, not a professional one. He expressed no reservations about leaving the office in capable hands.
“I’m enjoying the heck out of what I’m doing. There’s no bad feelings, no bad blood,” he said. “I mean, the office is in a great spot and the residents of Benton County shouldn’t have any concerns about any of that type of stuff. To be honest with you, I’m being kind of selfish in my mid-50s. I just want to go hang out with my kids and maybe do something a little different.”
While he stopped short of announcing a retirement from law enforcement entirely, he suggested his next chapter may look different.
“You never say never — I’d just rather go be something different,” he said. “I don’t know what that’s going to be when I grow up but I’ve adapted to live a good life twice. I’ve been a rancher and a cowboy and I’ve been in law enforcement. I mean, I’m pretty fortunate to live most of your young people’s dreams.”
He also didn’t rule out a more informal role back on the ranch, joking that he has been making his pitch to his son and future daughter-in-law.
“I keep telling my son and his fiancée — if they want to pay me to be their ranch hand, I’ll go over there and work for them,” he said.
When asked what he’s most proud of from his time as sheriff, Van Arsdall turned the focus to his staff.
“I’m just proud of this office. I’m proud of the men and women that serve Benton County that work in the office — uniformed patrol to plain-clothes admin staff,” he said. “I’m telling you, everybody here has one common goal and that common goal is to be the best that I can be for Benton County and I love that.”
One of the office’s more notable achievements under his tenure has been maintaining full staffing.
“As far as staffing goes, I mean, we’re staffed and I will tell you that is not the norm still around the state of Oregon,” Van Arsdall said, adding that he regularly discusses the subject with colleagues at statewide meetings. “Every time I sit down with the other 35 sheriffs around the state, I remind them that I have reserve deputies, I have limited duty deputies, I have case monitors.”
He did note one area where he’d like to see improvement, acknowledging that parole and probation staffing is tied to state funding and has declined since he took office.
“I’d love to see more parole-probation deputies but that budget line comes out of the state of Oregon,” he said.
On the question of unfinished business, Van Arsdall pointed to the county’s jail situation. A bond measure for a new law enforcement center failed to pass during his time in office.
“I wish we had a new jail, I wish the bond would have worked a different way but it didn’t,” he said. “There’s still work to do and it’s going to fall on — it’s going to be Sheriff Bressler — and Scott’s going to have to do a little bit of work himself and then we’ll just see what happens.”
Van Arsdall spoke warmly about his relationship with Philomath and the city’s police department.
“Philomath folks should be proud of the officers in the department they have because Chief (Dave) Gurski does a lot over there for Philomath,” he said, also crediting former Chief Ken Rueben. “I love seeing all of them whether it’s Dave in Philomath or Marcia (Harnden) in North Albany, we have a really good relationship with our rural partners.”
Van Arsdall got his start in law enforcement as a reserve deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in the 1990s before spending 18 years with the Corvallis Police Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He later moved to Baker County, where he worked under Sheriff Travis Ash and ultimately served as undersheriff before being appointed to lead the Benton County office.
Looking back, he said the relationships he built across his career stand out as a defining element of the work.
“It comes down to the mantra of the Oregon State Sheriffs (Association) — the relationships are primary, everything else is secondary,” he said. “If you don’t have those good relationships, you’re going to be butting your head against the wall every day.”
As for what comes next in Benton County, Van Arsdall expressed confidence in his successor.
“The office is going to be in a good place and the county will continue to be in a good place,” he said.