Sheriff-elect names Chief Deputy of Administrative Services

Sheriff-elect Ken Furlong on Wednesday named a 16-year law enforcement veteran as chief deputy of administrative services, finalizing his three-member leadership team in Carson City.

Rick Keema, 37, is general services bureau commander for the state Department of Public Safety. He starts his Carson City sheriff's chief deputy job Jan. 6.

Keema began his law-enforcement career with the Elko Police Department and has worked for the North Las Vegas Police Department and the Department of Public Safety Division of Investigations.

Keema said his goals for the sheriff's department will be to help the agency achieve overall success.

"I think we can be a top-shelf agency," he said. "That's what the community wants and deserves."

The newly named chief deputy joins Furlong's appointments of Steve Albertsen as undersheriff and Steve Schuettee as chief deputy of operations. The men have worked together before, Keema said.

"I'm excited with the leadership team," he said. "We're familiar with each other and our strengths and weaknesses."

Keema will oversee general services, detention, civil process, records management, budget and other administrative services.

Furlong will work with his new leadership staff over the next month to "evaluate staffing positions and structural alignments so as to provide for the most efficient and effective management of our community resources," he said.

Keema and his wife, Susan, the principal of Bordewich-Bray Elementary School, live in Carson City. Their children are 13, 9 and 4.

Keema said law enforcement was a natural career choice for him. His grandfather, Claude Keema, was Lyon County sheriff in the 1950s and '60s, and his uncle, Richard Varner, worked at the Department of Public Safety. Keema was born in New Mexico while his father was in the military. He said he and his family enjoy traveling, outdoor activities and water sports.