Family of Kristin Smart urges re-election of Sheriff Ian Parkinson
Almost 22 years ago, our daughter Kristin lost her life on the Cal Poly campus. We are still waiting for justice and the opportunity to lie her to rest.
We know the pain of losing a child and the feeling that the “system” failed our children and family. We are heartbroken for Andrew Holland and his family. Losing a child is, without question, a parent’s cruelest pain. Two dramatically different events, but for each the outcome was tragic.
Kristin and Andrew were both victims at the hands of the person/persons who let their lives slip away. The system failed Andrew and his family long before he lost his life.
The system re-victimized Kristin and our family after she lost her life. First Cal Poly and later the SLO County Sheriff’s Department from 1996 to 2010 laid blame on Kristin for her own disappearance. Their lack of commitment, resolve, empathy and professionalism has required us to live our loss every day for the last 22 years.
The day Sheriff Ian Parkinson took office, Jan. 3, 2011, was a new beginning for us.
He contacted us and committed to doing everything in his power to bring Kristin home. Because of him, his dedicated investigators and the support of the District Attorney’s Office, our family has hope and a sense that Kristin matters, and she will not be forgotten. We believe everything that can be done is being done.
Ian Parkinson is a person of his word who cares about each person under his watch.
We hope the community will re-elect him and ensure the lives of Kristin and Andrew were not lost in vain and that the losses our families both suffered will help make the community stronger and safer.
We give our unqualified support to Sheriff Parkinson, not just for his empathy, professionalism and commitment to Kristin and our family, but for the man we have learned to trust and respect.
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Family of Kristin Smart urges re-election of Sheriff Ian Parkinson."