The long and winding career path of Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher gets an airing in City Pages, where Matt Snyders spends some quality time with the sheriff during and after the interview.

Fletcher's rise from North St. Paul High School athlete to St. Paul cop, to City Council member, mayoral candidate and controversial sheriff (particularly during last fall's Republican National Convention and now with the implosion of the gang strike force) gets a good workout.

A small nit: There's no mention of Fletcher's high-profile resignation from the city council in the mid-1980s. And I know there's not unlimited time or space for a saga like Fletcher's, but I would have liked to have heard from former St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, who ran against Fletcher in 2006 in a bitter, bitter battle.

Snyders has folks calling Fletcher "ruthless," "combative" and "pugnacious," and yet, I know there are people who work with and for the sheriff who think he's a great leader and good person.