[0:00] Everyone and welcome.

[0:01] My name is Erin Hunt.

[0:03] I'm the executive director

[0:04] of the Colorado River Valley Chamber of Commerce.

[0:08] Thank you all for joining us tonight

[0:10] for the Garfield County Sheriff's Forum.

[0:13] We're grateful to see such a strong community interest in

[0:16] learning about the candidates

[0:17] and the future of public safety in Garfield County.

[0:21] On behalf of the chamber, I'd like

[0:22] to thank both the candidates, Brent Baker

[0:25] and Dan Loya for being with us this evening

[0:28] and for their willingness to participate in this very

[0:30] important community conversation.

[0:32] Thank you both. I'd also like to extend a special thank you

[0:35] to our partners who helped make tonight possible thank you

[0:39] to the Youth Theater for hosting us in this wonderful venue

[0:43] To Ron Milhorn of KMTS for serving

[0:45] as our moderator this evening

[0:47] and to Recinos language services

[0:49] for providing translation services

[0:51] and helping ensure tonight's forum is accessible

[0:53] to more members of our community.

[0:56] If you need those, you can find

[0:57] that at the front table over here.

[1:02] We appreciate everyone taking the time to be here,

[1:05] to be informed and to be a part of the conversation.

[1:09] At this time, I'd like to turn things over

[1:11] to our moderator, Ron.

[1:13] Thank you all and enjoy the forum.

[1:17] Thank you Aaron. Well, good evening everyone.

[1:20] Welcome to tonight's forum.

[1:21] It is indeed intended to be a forum, a discussion

[1:25] between the Republican candidates vying

[1:27] to be the next sheriff in Garfield County.

[1:30] Many of us weren't sure when there would be a new sheriff in

[1:32] town because Lou Valerio proudly

[1:34] and with distinctions served

[1:35] as the top cop in the county for 23 years.

[1:39] Lou, you've certainly earned your retirement

[1:41] and we thank you

[1:49] Now about tonight's form.

[1:52] It is about sharing ideas, identifying issues,

[1:55] and considering solutions as they relate

[1:57] to law enforcement in Garfield County.

[2:01] Unlike a debate, there are no winners declared in a form

[2:03] that is something to be determined

[2:05] by each individual citizen when

[2:06] they exercise their right to vote.

[2:09] Before we begin, I must address the elephant in the room.

[2:12] While primaries are generally uneventful, I think we can

[2:16] and all all agree that the campaign trail leading up

[2:19] to this particular primary election has taken some strange

[2:22] and unexpected turns.

[2:25] It has drawn a great deal of attention

[2:26] and some very strong opinions expressed

[2:29] through various mediums.

[2:30] It has been unusual

[2:31] and to some degree unprecedented out of respect

[2:35] for the political process and most importantly,

[2:37] for the candidates and the voters both in attendance

[2:39] and to those listening and watching tonight's forum,

[2:42] I must demand that everyone be on their best behavior.

[2:46] Applause is fine, but cheering, jeering

[2:48] and rude comments will be frowned upon

[2:50] and if it gets out of hand,

[2:51] you may be asked to leave the theater.

[2:54] Each candidate has been informed of the topics

[2:56] to be discussed, but not the questions.

[2:58] If there's time, we might take a few questions.

[3:01] Well, we, we will have a few questions

[3:02] that have been submitted by members of the public

[3:07] and that's it.

[3:09] I'm off my soapbox. Let's

[3:11] begin now.

[3:15] Our rules of the game, if you will.

[3:18] Sorry, that's my sports background.

[3:23] Each candidate will receive two minutes

[3:25] to present an opening statement.

[3:30] Our questions candidates will receive two minutes

[3:32] to answer several questions.

[3:34] There will not be time to go back and forth.

[3:37] If you'd like to comment on the other candidate's answer,

[3:39] you'll be using your time to comment

[3:40] and still answer the question.

[3:42] Is that clear? Yes.

[3:43] Alright, and then we'll have a two minute closing

[3:47] statement as well.

[3:50] We begin with an opening two minute opening statement

[3:52] and we start with Brent Baker.

[3:56] Good evening. Make sure my mic works. It does. Okay, good.

[4:00] I'm Brent Baker and I'm not just running

[4:01] for Garfield County Sheriff.

[4:02] I'm stepping up to lead for 45 years. This has been my home.

[4:05] I was born in parachute, raised in our emergency services

[4:08] and stood on the front lines as a volunteer, EMT

[4:11] and firefighter right here in this community.

[4:13] I've served you in the Garfield County Sheriff's Office

[4:15] for the last 24 years.

[4:17] Let's remember why we're here today.

[4:19] This is a Republican primary

[4:21] and the focus should be on conservative values,

[4:23] constitutional rights, and the future of Garfield County.

[4:27] The question before us is not what's

[4:28] outside political interests

[4:29] or leaders from neighboring counties?

[4:31] Want. The question is what the people

[4:33] of Garfield County want, who they want as their sheriff.

[4:36] The selection should be decided by the conservative voters

[4:38] of Garfield County and by

[4:39] who they believe will best protect their constitutional

[4:41] rights and who will uphold the law

[4:45] and serve the community with integrity.

[4:46] At the end of the day, the most

[4:47] important question is simple.

[4:48] Who do the conservatives of Garfield

[4:49] County want as their sheriff?

[4:51] You ask me what separates me from the other candidate.

[4:53] The answer is dedication. Rooted in blood and sweat.

[4:59] He may have decades law enforcement,

[5:01] but my 24 years have been spent serving Garfield County

[5:03] and only Garfield County.

[5:04] He worked for a neighboring county.

[5:06] I have blood for this community.

[5:07] I wear the scars of serving you every single day.

[5:10] He cannot say the same.

[5:11] Integrity and character, these are just not words to me.

[5:14] They're my bedrock. While we hear the attacks aimed at

[5:16] current Sheriff Valerio whose endorsement I accept,

[5:20] but let me be clear, I'm not him.

[5:21] You'll find no honest facts to asail my integrity

[5:24] and trust me, people have tried.

[5:26] I stand ready to serve with honor

[5:28] to implement the vital changes this sheriff's office

[5:31] desperately needs and

[5:32] to ensure we better serve you the

[5:33] dedicated citizens of Garfield County.

[5:35] My dedication runs deeper than a badgeing uniform.

[5:37] It's wove woven into the fabric of this community.

[5:39] For two years, I fought

[5:41] for our children on the Garfield County School

[5:42] District 16 Board of Education.

[5:44] For years I dedicated myself

[5:45] to Colorado River Valley Little League board

[5:47] and I still volunteer an umpire there.

[5:49] I've invested in the future of our youth.

[5:51] I serve on the agricultural board

[5:53] for the Grand Valley Future Farmers

[5:54] of America Advisory Board,

[5:56] supporting our agricultural future.

[5:58] Let the other candidates in neighboring

[6:00] county appreciate his service.

[6:01] I have served and I will continue

[6:02] to serve you the citizens of Garfield County.

[6:04] Thank you,

[6:08] Dan.

[6:09] Two minutes.

[6:09] Good evening. I'm Dan Loya.

[6:11] I'd like to first to start off by thanking my family.

[6:14] My wife, as Mr.

[6:16] Hor said, this primary has been very unprecedented.

[6:20] It's been a long hard road

[6:21] and we're gonna, we're at the tail end

[6:23] and I'm here to serve Garfield County.

[6:25] This is my home. I've been here 45 years.

[6:28] I've raised my family here. My dad was a coal miner here.

[6:31] My kids graduated from Rifle High School.

[6:34] I graduated from Glenwood Springs High School.

[6:36] My wife works in the medical field here.

[6:39] We own a nice multiple properties in Garfield County.

[6:43] I've given my blood, sweat and tears as well.

[6:46] My family owned businesses here.

[6:47] I'm ready to serve Garfield County.

[6:50] I have 30 years in law enforcement.

[6:53] Most of those years have been in major crimes,

[6:55] protecting children, defending them.

[6:58] Narcotics investigations.

[7:00] Last six years in executive leadership,

[7:02] running an entire organization overseeing a multimillion

[7:05] dollar budget, writing policies, implementing policies,

[7:09] hiring command level positions.

[7:13] I'm also very unique that I'm able

[7:15] to serve everybody in Garfield County regardless of

[7:17] who you are, I'm bilingual, I'm bicultural.

[7:21] Regardless of where you stand on the immigration issue,

[7:23] over 35% at Garfield County is Latino.

[7:27] They're business owners, they're taxpayers

[7:30] and I'm here to represent them as well.

[7:32] That is unique and that's the first time in history

[7:35] that we have a candidate that can serve both

[7:38] citizens of Garfield County.

[7:40] Along with everybody else, I want to be the sheriff

[7:42] of all the people and serve everybody regardless

[7:46] of your race, creed, sexual preference and everybody,

[7:50] and protect your constitutional rights,

[7:52] which every law enforcement officer should swear to do.

[7:59] First question for Dan,

[8:01] and again, we will alternate throughout these questions.

[8:07] Public safety and community priorities.

[8:10] What do you believe is the biggest public safety challenge

[8:12] facing Garfield County right now

[8:14] and how would you address that as sheriff?

[8:17] Two minutes.

[8:20] Thanks Ron. That's a great question.

[8:22] In my opinion, the biggest priority right now

[8:23] is the drug issue.

[8:26] As you guys saw just recently, Eagle County,

[8:29] we seized over 500 Fentanyl pills that came

[8:31] through Garfield County in the nineties.

[8:35] We had the crack issue. Now we have the fentanyl issue.

[8:38] That can be devastating.

[8:39] That's the root of all evil that goes to car break-ins,

[8:43] issues at home, construction sites being broken into.

[8:47] We gotta get our handle on that.

[8:50] I've created a team in in Eagle County

[8:53] that's been nationally recognized for that.

[8:55] It's a lot of work created by highly motivated individuals.

[8:59] We work closely with everybody in the state.

[9:03] I think that's a big focus

[9:04] that we need here in Garfield County.

[9:08] I would get constant compliments of the things that we see

[9:11] and the loads that we see.

[9:13] 30 years ago we used to get small amounts,

[9:18] maybe half a pound if we're lucky.

[9:20] Now we're getting car loads, 40, 50 pounds of drugs

[9:24] that are coming through the state.

[9:26] That's gonna continue and we gotta get a stock to it.

[9:29] That infiltrates Garfield County,

[9:31] the problem's only gonna get bigger.

[9:38] Brent, Thanks. Yeah, great question. I would agree.

[9:43] Drugs are a problem. I think we disagree on how we go about

[9:47] enforcing drugs, right?

[9:51] If you any of you have a drug house next door to you,

[9:55] where do you want your deputies?

[9:57] Do you want them focusing on the drug horse house next

[9:59] to you or do you want 'em on the interstate?

[10:01] I want 'em focusing on my neighbors

[10:03] who are causing me problems.

[10:05] That doesn't mean we should ignore the interstate.

[10:07] The interstate brings us a lot of crime

[10:09] and it absolutely does

[10:10] and I am super proud of what the Spear Task Force has done.

[10:13] Two weeks ago they took off over 50 pounds of drugs.

[10:16] You didn't see that in the paper.

[10:17] You know why you didn't see that in the paper?

[10:19] Because they made it a bigger case Because we are integrated

[10:23] with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the DEA.

[10:25] So we work as a team with the DEA,

[10:30] so that case is gonna go bigger.

[10:32] I don't want just the drug mule

[10:33] driving up and down the interstate.

[10:35] I want the person who sent it from the border

[10:38] and I wanna catch them and make sure they go

[10:39] to federal prison where they get real time

[10:41] and I want to catch the distributor who's in Denver

[10:43] and make sure they get real federal time.

[10:47] And I wanna catch all that.

[10:49] We don't put a lot of the big drug bust Spear does out in

[10:52] the news because it's a continuing investigation.

[10:55] You might see it a year later.

[10:56] But we wanna catch all those people, not just the drug mule.

[10:59] And I'm super proud of the work

[11:00] that the Spear Task Force has been doing.

[11:02] Again, they took off a huge load here a couple weeks ago.

[11:04] I can show you pictures, but it's not in the news

[11:06] because it's still a continuing investigation.

[11:08] So excellent work by them.

[11:09] But again, we need to focus on neighborhoods

[11:11] and we need to focus on county roads

[11:13] and your neighborhoods

[11:15] where crime is occurring in your neighborhoods.

[11:17] And that's where people wanna see the deputies

[11:18] and that's where I wanna put 'em.

[11:20] The other thing about public safety

[11:21] and community priorities,

[11:23] people just wanna feel safe in their neighborhood, right?

[11:26] We don't wanna focus just on drugs,

[11:28] even though I agree drugs are 80 to 90% of crime

[11:31] is backed by crime somehow.

[11:33] But also we have to focus on other things.

[11:36] Domestic violence, child sex, assault, child abuse.

[11:39] We have to focus on all that, not just drugs. Thanks.

[11:46] Second topic deals with code enforcement

[11:48] and inter-agency cooperation.

[11:50] Mr. Baker, how would the Sheriff's Office work

[11:53] with the police department's, state agencies, schools

[11:56] and neighboring counties to address

[11:58] public safety challenges?

[12:01] It really is a team effort. It really is.

[12:03] And we have to approach it as a team.

[12:05] No single agency can do that by themselves.

[12:07] That's why the Spear Task Force is a task force

[12:09] and not just a Sheriff's office unit.

[12:12] It's a task force. 'cause we need all that help

[12:14] and we need all that experience from other agencies.

[12:17] I have been very fortunate

[12:19] to grow up here in Garfield County with

[12:24] the chiefs and the sergeants and the lieutenants

[12:26] and the deputies and the police officers

[12:28] here in Garfield County.

[12:29] So I know them. I call them friends, I call them colleagues

[12:34] and I'm proud to have their support.

[12:36] I'm proud to be supported by chiefs.

[12:38] I'm proud to be supported by fire chiefs.

[12:40] That's a huge job that the Sheriff's Office takes on is

[12:42] as the fire marshal.

[12:44] And I'm super proud

[12:46] and honored to have endorsements from local fire chiefs,

[12:49] local fire unions because they trust me

[12:51] and they believe in my leadership

[12:53] and they know I've been on the front lines

[12:54] with them fighting fires, fighting bad guys.

[12:59] Again, it's a team effort.

[13:00] I'm really proud of the sheriff's office

[13:03] and what we've done when I first started here 24 years ago,

[13:06] and Lou can speak to this,

[13:08] but we did not get along well with a lot of the PDs

[13:12] and that has come a long way in the last 24 years.

[13:14] And we do really well and we work with all of 'em very well.

[13:18] Thanks

[13:20] Mr.

[13:21] Loy. Two minutes. Yeah, I'm, I'd

[13:22] Like to refer back to the public safety

[13:24] and clarify my drug task force also works in neighborhoods.

[13:27] It's a tier tier task force.

[13:29] I have two members that work the interstate with canines.

[13:32] And then I have four other members that are doing

[13:35] investigations about your neighbors working informants.

[13:38] So just to clarify, they don't,

[13:40] we don't just work on the interstate.

[13:42] They actually are also working undercover

[13:45] narcotics with informants.

[13:46] So add to that, back to cooperation with local law,

[13:51] emergency services, it's priority

[13:53] and it's more important now than ever during a major event.

[13:56] There's a catastrophe, a wild land fire.

[13:58] You have to have those partnerships in place.

[14:01] You can't have 'em without the, the school districts

[14:04] as well have been protecting our children

[14:05] with school resource officers.

[14:07] I've just met with local school officials here.

[14:09] They have reached out to me.

[14:11] They want to continue to move that.

[14:12] I've spoken with local law enforcement chiefs

[14:15] personally in their command.

[14:16] They want to do that. I don't know if I agree

[14:18] with Mr. Baker about the working relationship

[14:20] that they have, especially

[14:21] with the current issue they've had

[14:23] with Glenwood Springs Police Department.

[14:25] However, I think that's imperative.

[14:28] We need to continue to build those relationships.

[14:30] Not one single agency has enough resources

[14:33] to cover the entire county

[14:35] and everything that happens on, we gotta work together.

[14:38] There's a big event in any municipality.

[14:40] We have to create partnerships and a brotherhood

[14:43] and a sisterhood to come and work

[14:44] and help one each other out.

[14:46] We do that in Eagle County. It's been great.

[14:48] We have multi-jurisdictional task forces,

[14:52] our special operations unit

[14:55] and that is for your safety and public safety.

[14:58] Ultimately we have to have those relationships,

[15:00] put the egos aside, come work together.

[15:03] So make sure everybody's safe. Thank you. Ron.

[15:09] Third topic is school safety and youth.

[15:13] Dan, how would you approach balancing school safety

[15:16] with positive interactions

[15:17] between law enforcements and young people?

[15:21] Well, as we all know, we have school

[15:23] resource officers in all the schools.

[15:24] That's something maybe at our

[15:25] generation thought we'd never have.

[15:27] And I think that's a priority.

[15:29] I think selecting the right school resource officer,

[15:32] putting him in that school is important

[15:34] that they can build relationship with the kids.

[15:36] Let them know what law enforcement's about.

[15:39] There's more, there's nothing more important than that.

[15:41] Building those relationship with law enforcement

[15:42] that at young age, I'm a firm believer that when you're

[15:46] interacting with a young 14, 15, 16-year-old kid,

[15:49] that's an important time in that children, that child's life

[15:53] that you can build that relationship.

[15:55] You stop that kid for speeding,

[15:57] doesn't really need a ticket.

[15:59] What a great opportunity to build

[16:01] that relationship and educate them.

[16:02] So public safety or school safety is a priority.

[16:06] It should be for everybody in this room.

[16:08] I think Mr. Baker probably feels the same way.

[16:11] However, it's make sure you're vetting the right school

[16:14] resource officers to put 'em in there.

[16:16] That represents the agency well

[16:18] and has a very well understanding of public safety.

[16:21] But along also building relationship with children.

[16:24] That's a must. You gotta build trust with the parents.

[16:29] You have to build trust with the students.

[16:32] 'cause they're the ones that they're gonna go to.

[16:34] If there's anything that's gonna be planned,

[16:36] they're gonna go to that school resource officer first

[16:38] and they may stop an incident.

[16:40] But you gotta also have good relationships

[16:42] with the school district, the board,

[16:44] and all the officials at that school.

[16:47] I think we have a great program in Eagle County.

[16:49] The sheriff's office and the county commissioners have

[16:52] chosen to fund some of that

[16:55] and we absorb some of those costs.

[16:57] I know that's maybe not always feasible

[17:01] depending from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,

[17:03] but I think public safety for schools, events

[17:06] and children's safety should be a priority.

[17:10] Brent, two minutes. Thanks.

[17:12] I'll go back to the interagency real quick.

[17:15] We have got a great relationship with Glenwood pd.

[17:17] I was just in a meeting with him two days ago.

[17:20] They help us, we help them.

[17:23] The politics in Glenwood, I would say is difficult

[17:27] and we have nothing against the PD

[17:28] and the PD has nothing against us.

[17:30] But the city council might be a different story.

[17:34] So I, I will leave it at that.

[17:36] But I would encourage you to talk to the Glenwood PD

[17:38] and ask 'em if they get along with the sheriff's office

[17:40] and we consider them brothers just like they consider us.

[17:45] I know you probably didn't mean it mean it

[17:46] as a shot at our SROs, but I kind of took it as a shot.

[17:51] Our SROs are great.

[17:53] Both our SROs, one who works in Garfield County School,

[17:56] district 16 has more than 20 years of experience,

[17:58] more than 10 years as an SRO.

[18:00] He is great with the kids.

[18:02] He's coached football, he's a great guy.

[18:04] And then our SO who works in RE two out at Coleridge,

[18:07] another guy who's got more than 20 years

[18:09] of experience in law enforcement.

[18:11] Really, really, really great cop

[18:13] who is also on the SWAT team.

[18:15] A hurt and just highly trained great guy

[18:20] who do great things in the school.

[18:21] They put on classes really, really great guys.

[18:24] And so I, I know, but I just wanted to reach out to them

[18:28] 'cause they are some of the best deputies we have

[18:30] and that's where we should be

[18:31] putting some of our best deputies.

[18:33] The second thing I would say on that is we need

[18:36] to get another SRO in re one.

[18:39] Politics are rough up there.

[18:41] Not gonna sit up here and tell you

[18:43] politics or anything else.

[18:46] It's rough up in re one.

[18:47] But we have a working relationship with them

[18:49] and we need to continue that and we need

[18:51] to get an SRO back into re one out at Riverview school.

[18:54] So that's one of my main priorities starting day one.

[18:57] The second thing is I believe completely in making sure our

[19:02] deputies are engaged in your community.

[19:04] Our deputies need to be out

[19:05] and they are out coaching, baseball, coaching, football,

[19:08] coaching, wrestling, being involved in the community,

[19:11] being part of your community and that helps with the youth.

[19:14] Thanks.

[19:17] Next topic. Jail mental health and crisis response.

[19:23] Brent, what role should the sheriff's office play in

[19:25] responding to mental health crises?

[19:30] We don't have a choice. We have to respond

[19:33] to mental health crises 'cause nobody else is going to.

[19:35] There is not a fail safe in Garfield County for

[19:39] the mental health crisis.

[19:42] Years ago, we probably both agree on this.

[19:45] Years ago the state invested a lot

[19:46] of money into mental health because that was the topic

[19:49] of the day and a couple years ago

[19:51] that dried up and went away.

[19:53] And so we've had to take that on ourselves.

[19:58] We currently partner with Aspen Hope

[20:00] and they have had some really great numbers here recently

[20:05] in 24 they deployed with us 31 times in the county,

[20:10] 12 in 25 and only four times this year.

[20:13] But I'm sure that'll increase as the weather gets hotter.

[20:15] 48% of these times, Aspen Hope was responding

[20:19] with us directly to the client's home.

[20:21] And we have to continue that relationship

[20:23] and probably expand that relationship.

[20:26] Those keep the mental health crisis out

[20:29] of the ERs and that's what we're shooting for.

[20:31] Keep it outta the er, keep it out of the jail,

[20:35] keep it back in the community

[20:36] with community resources to help solve that.

[20:39] As far as the jail goes, we have some

[20:41] of the best programs in the state in our jail currently.

[20:44] We just did a audit slash staffing survey in the jail

[20:48] and the company came back to us

[20:50] and said, we are gonna use you as an example

[20:53] for the programs you have and the engagement you have.

[20:56] 75% of our inmate population engages

[20:59] with our programs, which is huge.

[21:02] It reduces those people coming back to jail,

[21:04] especially when they get out.

[21:06] If we can keep them connected with those programs,

[21:10] then we have a 75% chance

[21:12] of them not coming back to our jail.

[21:15] As long as we can keep them in those programs outside.

[21:17] And that's what we're looking for is

[21:19] that reduces crime overall.

[21:20] Makes the community a better place.

[21:25] Dan, two minutes jail have mental health

[21:27] and crisis response.

[21:28] Sure. So we have a similar

[21:31] crisis response unit in Eagle County,

[21:32] but we also have 'em respond with community paramedics.

[21:36] Sadly, mental health is not a law enforcement issue,

[21:40] but at two o'clock in the morning, one on one

[21:42] of your loved one calls and we have to respond.

[21:44] Who else is gonna respond? It's gonna be law enforcement.

[21:47] The key is that we have mental health services to provide

[21:50] and deescalate that situation.

[21:52] We respond with our, our Hope center

[21:56] and then also a community paramedic.

[21:58] Once the situation is deescalated, we leave

[22:02] and they have ongoing services

[22:04] and they continue to follow up with that individual.

[22:07] All with the hopes that we don't have a repeated offense

[22:10] or a repeated incident.

[22:11] And oftentimes we may have that.

[22:13] So we, we have a very good solid program.

[22:15] We, we started ours about 10 years ago.

[22:17] It's been very successful in our detention center.

[22:21] We also have three contract mental health providers.

[22:24] Our mental health provider

[22:26] or our, our medical provider has a staff member.

[22:29] We also bring somebody in separate from them

[22:32] that we contract with that provides dependency therapy.

[22:37] And then we also contract with a separate company

[22:39] that provides crisis management.

[22:42] Somebody comes, comes into our facility

[22:45] and they're in crisis, they're evaluated

[22:48] and then we put 'em on what is called a step program.

[22:50] And as they move through that step program,

[22:52] the professional decides where they're gonna be placed

[22:55] and provides services

[22:56] and ongoing services upon while they remain with us.

[22:59] And then provide services or,

[23:02] or sends them forward to where they need

[23:04] to continue services upon leaving the center

[23:10] Leadership accountability and transparency.

[23:14] Dan, what would transparency look like

[23:16] under your administration?

[23:20] As most of you saw my flyer, I think accountability

[23:22] and transparency for everybody, including myself.

[23:25] It starts with me. You set the example as a leader

[23:29] and you have to have your command staff

[23:30] and your sergeants follow in that same rule.

[23:32] There's, it's not an option.

[23:35] And that follows down to your front line and to the public.

[23:39] In today's day and age, I'm sure Mr.

[23:43] Valerio would agree if he would've said We're gonna be

[23:45] wearing body cameras one day,

[23:46] we would've probably disagreed with everybody.

[23:48] I, I mean he's laughing

[23:50] 'cause I think we would've never

[23:51] thought this day was coming.

[23:53] But you need it more now than ever.

[23:55] And body cams don't cover it all.

[23:57] But you gotta be fully transparent to the public.

[23:59] No, no options. There's some things you can't discuss.

[24:02] Personnel matters that are just not privileged to you.

[24:05] But everything else needs to be fully transparent.

[24:08] You're the people we serve.

[24:10] You're the taxpayers, you're the ones

[24:13] that we're providing the service to.

[24:15] So when you call, we need to respond, we need

[24:17] to provide you answers.

[24:19] Might not be the answers you want,

[24:22] but that also calls down to our staff.

[24:24] If somebody's misbehaving, whether we like it

[24:27] or not, we're the only profession

[24:29] that has an off-duty policy.

[24:31] How we behave off-duty reflects on your profession

[24:34] and it could cost you your career.

[24:36] That's what we sign up for and that,

[24:40] and that's the standard that needs to be set.

[24:43] I started a program hiring employees

[24:46] based off character, not skill.

[24:49] We can teach you the skillset,

[24:51] but character's not something you can be taught.

[24:54] And we hire based off that. And it's been successful to us.

[24:58] And accountability is not for everyone,

[25:00] but there's the standard needs to be set

[25:03] 'cause that's what's required by the voters

[25:06] and the citizens we serve.

[25:11] Brent, Oh, I was excited for this question.

[25:15] So I just wanna touch on something Dan said real quick.

[25:19] And hiring is a huge thing in what we do.

[25:23] Leadership, accountability and transparency.

[25:26] That's why we have a 12% turnover rate at the Garfield

[25:29] County Sheriff's Office, which is national average.

[25:31] And we're proud of that even though we live in one of the

[25:34] very high standard of living, high cost of living area,

[25:38] 12% turnover rate in law enforcement's

[25:40] almost unheard of in this area.

[25:42] That's because people wanna work at the Garfield County

[25:44] Sheriff's Office because we hold people accountable

[25:46] and they know we want transparency and character.

[25:49] People wanna work here. People are not flocking.

[25:52] The patrol divisions fully staffed right now.

[25:55] They're not flocking to the counties around us that pay more

[25:58] to the cities that are offering a $30,000 hiring bonus.

[26:02] They're working at the Garfield County Sheriff's Office

[26:04] 'cause they wanna work there

[26:06] because they wanna work with me.

[26:07] They wanna work with Sheriff Valerio

[26:09] and they've wanna work with what we've built.

[26:13] I was an executive development class a few years ago

[26:15] and they listed the four top traits of a leader.

[26:17] Honesty, competency, inspiring, and forward-looking.

[26:20] That is why the majority

[26:21] of employees at the Garfield County

[26:23] Sheriff's Office support me.

[26:24] Thanks for coming guys. Appreciate you.

[26:27] I, I know, I know this is important to you guys too.

[26:29] They've seen my integrity on display every day.

[26:32] They know my competence, they know how forward looking I am.

[26:36] They know where we're headed.

[26:37] I've been in the trenches fighting

[26:38] with them day in and day out.

[26:40] That's what really separates us.

[26:42] I think we, we can both agree public safety,

[26:44] being aggressive on crime, school safety,

[26:45] crisis response, that's all important.

[26:47] But having true integrity, accountability to the public

[26:50] and being transparent is what separates me.

[26:52] I've been campaign campaigning for nine months.

[26:55] Those nine months have been attacked.

[26:56] A deep dive, deep, deep dive on me has been done.

[26:59] And on my family as well.

[27:01] You know what, they found nothing

[27:03] because I've lived my life with integrity.

[27:05] I've lived my life with character.

[27:08] Come at me, come, come dig into me please.

[27:12] I've lived a good life

[27:13] and I've lived in a life full of integrity and character.

[27:16] Thank you.

[27:26] Community trust and civic responsibility.

[27:30] Brent, describe what being the newly elected Garfield County

[27:32] Sheriff means to you and what your responsibility would be

[27:36] for the department and community.

[27:38] What in the departments would remain the same

[27:40] and what would be different in four years?

[27:44] First thing I'm gonna do is take a big deep breath

[27:47] because it's been a long nine months

[27:49] and we still got another months to go.

[27:51] And then we got six months after that. So,

[27:54] And we, we didn't get a $30,000 hiring

[27:56] bonus when we got hired.

[27:57] I'm no, we did not.

[27:59] So that's one of the first things I'm gonna do.

[28:02] Some changes coming to the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

[28:06] Staffing issues. We've been working 12 hour shifts

[28:08] for 24 years and we are the busiest from four

[28:12] to 6:00 PM Anybody in this valley knows that, right?

[28:14] If you're on the roads from four

[28:15] to six, it's hard to get around.

[28:17] And that's when the sheriff's deputies are flying

[28:19] around trying to get to calls.

[28:22] We have to look at doing something different.

[28:24] We are looking at 10 and a half hour shifts.

[28:26] So we have a swing shift to cover that busiest time.

[28:29] So when our deputies are trying to go home at 6:00 PM

[28:33] they're not taking all these calls,

[28:35] we will have a swing shift in there to help

[28:38] that swing shift will also o off obviously overlap,

[28:41] which will allow some deputies

[28:43] to be able to work out on duty.

[28:45] We're gonna take an hour on duty

[28:46] and get the deputies some wellness,

[28:47] some physical wellness, some mental wellness.

[28:51] And so that is something I'm gonna implement day one.

[28:55] Those are some of the big changes coming, some

[28:58] of the long-term changes that we need to start planning for.

[29:00] Now. The jail's almost 30 years old

[29:03] and anybody that builds a jail

[29:04] or a prison will tell you

[29:05] that having multiple floors is a bad idea.

[29:09] We got three. That's why when you see a prison

[29:12] or a jail anywhere that's really big, they expand out.

[29:15] They don't expand up because when you put inmates in a

[29:18] elevator and you rely on an elevator to take people places,

[29:21] it's not a good solution.

[29:23] So here in five to six to seven years, we need

[29:26] to start saving now and we need to start planning

[29:28] for a new jail for Garfield County

[29:30] because the current one we have is not gonna work

[29:32] with current jail standards coming July 1st,

[29:34] which the state's putting on us

[29:36] and it, it needs some updating.

[29:40] So that's some of the big things coming.

[29:44] I'll repeat the question for our listening audience.

[29:47] Describe what being the newly elected Garfield County

[29:49] Sheriff means to you and what your responsibility would be

[29:53] for the department and the community.

[29:55] What in the department would remain the same

[29:57] and what would be different in four years, Dan?

[30:00] What it means to me, it'd be just a complete honor

[30:02] to be able to serve where I grew up, what I call home,

[30:05] where my family lives,

[30:07] and where my parents have been laid rust.

[30:10] That'd be an honor and that's what it means to me.

[30:12] I think it's a civic responsibility

[30:13] to every law enforcement officer

[30:15] that wears a badge in Garfield County.

[30:16] That that's why they do it.

[30:19] It it's, it oftentimes can be a thankless job.

[30:21] It's not something easy, but we do it because we care

[30:24] and we wanna serve the public.

[30:26] I can't predict the future of

[30:28] what it's gonna look like in four years.

[30:30] I don't know what legislator is gonna pass,

[30:32] but if I'm elected, I think it's important

[30:36] to get my hands on the budget.

[30:38] I would like to see some things reimplemented.

[30:40] I think animal control is a big, a big issue

[30:43] that we need back in rural Garfield County.

[30:45] I think that's a priority.

[30:47] One thing I'm proud of in Eagle County is we do over a

[30:49] hundred community events a year.

[30:51] That could be something from very minor

[30:53] to our biggest event, which is Shop with a Cop.

[30:55] We raise over $50,000 of donations

[30:58] to take less fortunate kids shopping.

[31:01] Community engagement is, is is big to me.

[31:04] And getting our community engaged, involved in our children

[31:08] and making that connection is important to me as well.

[31:11] So that civic responsibility goes back

[31:14] to committee engagement, connecting with the people

[31:18] that we serve and being out in the public.

[31:22] The jail is your biggest liability

[31:24] along with your employees.

[31:25] So you gotta get a grasp on that.

[31:27] A 30-year-old jail is a problem.

[31:29] We gotta address those issues

[31:32] and make sure that we're within

[31:34] the standards that are coming.

[31:35] I'm overseeing a jail now. I don't have a jail commander.

[31:37] I'm, I'm overseeing the jail so I know what that's like.

[31:39] That's a big liability.

[31:41] And if anybody tells you different, they're,

[31:44] they're not being honest with you.

[31:45] But the jail and your employees are your biggest liability.

[31:49] Employee health is big to me as well.

[31:51] We implemented an employee health wellness program

[31:53] and mental health program for our employees.

[31:55] You gotta take care of your employees and

[31:58] and that's the key is make sure they're valued

[32:01] opportunities given to them and

[32:06] and make sure they, they're taken care of.

[32:13] Budget, staffing and resources.

[32:16] Dan, what investments in training equipment

[32:18] or technology do you believe are most important

[32:21] for the future of the sheriff's office?

[32:25] All of the above. I think technology,

[32:27] I'm a big technology guy.

[32:29] We just implemented AI at our office where our,

[32:32] our officers can, when they get back to their office,

[32:35] they can dock their body cam, it writes the reports.

[32:37] The key is to get them back on the street serving you.

[32:40] We don't want our officers sitting in the patrol room

[32:43] typing, we want them back being visible to serve you

[32:45] and responding to calls for service.

[32:47] So that's important to us. Training is also big to me.

[32:52] I think cutting training, I know budgets can be tough.

[32:56] I know Garfield County has struggled

[32:57] with their budget issues and it's probably not gonna get

[33:01] any better in the near future.

[33:02] However, training is is essential.

[33:05] You gotta keep your guys trained.

[33:07] You gotta ke meet the state mandates that required by post

[33:11] and keep them fresh

[33:12] because they gotta be prepared to respond

[33:14] to calls when they go to you.

[33:17] Budgets. I'm overseeing

[33:20] all the budgets within my organization,

[33:22] not just parcel budgets.

[33:24] Nothing gets purchased

[33:26] through our organization without our

[33:28] financial team improved.

[33:30] The first year I was the undersheriff,

[33:32] we cut our overtime rate by 75%.

[33:35] Not that we're cutting overtime,

[33:37] but we're holding our staff accountable.

[33:39] That needs to be justified.

[33:40] Articulate why you need the overtime,

[33:43] that's big, that's your money.

[33:46] So holding our staff accountable,

[33:49] holding the budget accountable.

[33:50] It's not an open checkbook, it's my money.

[33:52] It's your money and we wanna make sure we have those

[33:56] services to provide to you.

[33:58] And we're, we're watching the bottom line of the dollar

[34:01] and making sure our staffs are being paid fair, right?

[34:05] That they're comparable to other agencies

[34:07] so we're not losing them

[34:08] to another law enforcement agency in the valley.

[34:11] I have staff that drive Diego County if I'm sheriff,

[34:14] I'd love them to be serving here.

[34:17] But budgets are are difficult but they gotta be managed

[34:21] and I'm proud that I've been doing

[34:22] that for the last six years.

[34:24] I see a multimillion dollar budget, I see every line item.

[34:27] I meet with my staff and go over every line

[34:29] item once a week.

[34:35] So Brett, what investments in training equipment

[34:37] or technology do you believe are most important

[34:40] for the future of the Sheriff's office?

[34:42] So I would love to see the Eagle County guys come

[34:44] down and work in Garfield County too.

[34:45] 'cause we have great environment.

[34:50] I would agree that equipment

[34:53] and training is really important.

[34:55] We implemented AI a year ago for the deputies via Axon

[34:59] and draft one and it's been working

[35:02] out really, really well for us.

[35:03] But there has to be controls on that.

[35:05] We are continuing, we are on the cutting edge

[35:07] of law enforcement in Garfield County

[35:08] and that's due to the investment that

[35:09] Sheriff Valerio has made.

[35:10] And there's been a lot of attacks recently on our

[35:13] budget and our equipment.

[35:15] And I find that hilarious in

[35:17] that the guy who's run the office for the last 24 years,

[35:20] who gives back a million dollars every year is

[35:23] being attacked for his budget.

[35:25] Gimme a break. Our equipment is second

[35:29] to none here in Garfield County.

[35:31] And the deputies want that. That's why deputies work here.

[35:34] Yes, our cars are expensive

[35:35] because we give them the best equipment they have.

[35:38] If you're on Douglas Pass at two in the morning

[35:40] and it's snowing sideways,

[35:42] you want the best equipment you can have.

[35:44] If you're in a fire and you're running from a fire

[35:46] that's licking the back of your patrol car,

[35:49] you want the best equipment you can have.

[35:51] That's what matters to our deputies.

[35:53] That's why our pay is great,

[35:56] but we don't have to pay Eagle County Pickin County rates

[36:00] because they wanna work here

[36:01] because they get good equipment, they get good support.

[36:05] Training is huge for us. Unfortunately due the budget cuts.

[36:08] Last year we had to cut back on training,

[36:09] but we're gonna get back to where we were.

[36:11] We, we were doing four times

[36:13] what the state required in training

[36:15] at the Garfield County Sheriff's Office

[36:17] and we're gonna continue that.

[36:18] There's two ways you make and, and Dan will agree with this.

[36:20] There's two ways you make a deputy

[36:23] a good law enforcement officer.

[36:24] One's training and one's experience, right.

[36:26] If you can't gain experience, you gotta get 'em training

[36:29] and you put those both together

[36:31] and you get some really, really good

[36:32] law enforcement officers.

[36:37] We get audited every year by the same company

[36:39] that Eagle County uses McMahon and Associates

[36:42] and the outside audit comes in

[36:44] and audits the Garfield County budget

[36:45] to make sure we're doing right by with your money.

[36:52] All right, we're gonna get to some public questions,

[36:54] but first we're gonna take about a 10 minute break,

[36:57] allow people to stretch a little bit, use the facilities,

[37:00] get something to drink and then we'll come back in 10

[37:02] minutes and resume this with some questions from the public.

[37:15] Alright? All right, we will continue now with some

[37:20] questions from the public that have been examined, read.

[37:24] Some of 'em are redundant,

[37:25] some subjects have already been covered

[37:28] and some aren't questions at all.

[37:29] Just statements. So I took

[37:34] my black pen and just, no offense,

[37:37] you can make your statement,

[37:38] but this is not the time or place.

[37:45] We will continue with Brent.

[37:49] This is about guns and gun rights.

[37:51] What are your thoughts on some of the red flag laws

[37:54] that have been passed by the state legislature?

[37:58] The state legislature in Denver continues

[38:03] to pass laws that do nothing for crime

[38:06] and only make it harder for the citizens of this state

[38:09] to exercise their constitutional rights.

[38:12] And it's ridiculous.

[38:20] We need a sheriff who will continue to be boisterous

[38:25] and to be loud and to what I tell everybody,

[38:27] go yell into the void.

[38:29] 'cause sometimes it's like yelling into the void.

[38:30] Perry will tell you that he worked over there.

[38:34] It's like yelling into a void.

[38:35] But you have to have somebody that's gonna go over there

[38:37] and stand up for your constitutional rights.

[38:40] And we need that. We have

[38:44] discretion in law enforcement

[38:46] and we have to exercise that when it comes

[38:48] to these crazy laws that are coming outta Denver.

[38:52] I am committed to that and I'll stay committed to that.

[38:56] And since day one, that's been one of my top priorities

[38:59] as a Second Amendment and making sure we protect that

[39:01] for the citizens of Garfield County.

[39:03] Thank you.

[39:08] I, Dan Red flag Laws.

[39:12] I agree with Brent. I echo that.

[39:13] I'm a gun advocate, gun owner, a firearm instructor.

[39:17] And you know, the Second amendment's dear to me,

[39:21] I'm a, I'm a concealed weapon instructor

[39:23] and I've been teaching firearms for since 97, 98.

[39:28] I so long I can't remember,

[39:30] but they continue to pass laws this year they

[39:35] actually passed another law ex expanding the red flag

[39:39] to other people to submit that.

[39:41] However, we've had one

[39:44] or two instances in Eagle County

[39:45] where a red flag has been signed

[39:46] by a judge in a court order.

[39:48] And I will tell you if it's done properly, it's effective

[39:51] because the gentleman that they submitted to

[39:54] was extremely dangerous.

[39:56] That was three years ago, I believe.

[39:59] And we're still in possession of his firearms.

[40:02] So if it's used properly, the judges read it

[40:05] signs the court order and vetted it has a purpose,

[40:09] but it needs to be done right.

[40:11] So it continues.

[40:15] I'm, I'm with Mr. Baker on this.

[40:18] Go down, we fight with the legislators, we get

[40:21] with the county Sheriffs Colorado.

[40:23] We team up with them, we team up with the other sheriffs

[40:26] and we, we stand up for your rights.

[40:28] We may not always win it, but it won't be without a fight.

[40:41] The budget wa came, came up during some

[40:43] of your comments from both of you

[40:45] and over the years the budget continues to,

[40:49] has continued to shrink

[40:51] and the commissioners have made some difficult decisions

[40:53] and I've, I've, I cover all the meetings

[40:55] and I know Sheriff Lou Valerio has

[41:01] been forced to make some cutbacks.

[41:03] How would you, with oblique forecast over the next five

[41:08] years or so, how would you manage to continue

[41:12] to meet the, the needs of the,

[41:14] the community law enforcement needs

[41:17] with a shrinking budget, Dan?

[41:20] Well you're gonna have to, you know,

[41:21] unfortunately I was part of oh eight

[41:23] and we, we struggled all just like probably everybody he did

[41:26] here in Garfield County.

[41:27] The budget restraint, you're gonna have

[41:29] to prioritize what's important, which is public service,

[41:32] having cops responding to calls for service

[41:34] and make sure your safety's protected is the number one.

[41:37] The jail's also number one priority by statutorily

[41:40] where the sheriff's required to maintain a jail.

[41:43] So you gotta maintain that.

[41:45] You're gonna have to trim the fat, you know,

[41:47] really justify your overtime.

[41:50] Things that aren't needed, you know, are gonna have

[41:54] to cut back and, and get by with the, the bare necessities.

[41:58] I'm not a firm believer

[41:59] that you turn one thing about government,

[42:01] there's always a set of money coming the next year, right?

[42:05] And it's not to, hey, let's turn to the taxpayer

[42:07] and ask for a tax increase.

[42:10] Nobody else gets to do that. Why should government?

[42:12] So I think is we have to run a tight budget,

[42:16] hold each other accountable,

[42:18] the taxpayers hold us accountable

[42:21] and make sure that we're meeting the basic services.

[42:23] If we get to that point where we have

[42:25] to just maintain services, we have to be responsible

[42:29] and good stewards of the budget.

[42:31] And I know everyone

[42:33] and anybody that's elected will tell

[42:35] you how they're gonna do it.

[42:37] But every sheriff has their own priorities on

[42:40] how they want things done.

[42:41] But my main focus would be public safety.

[42:43] I want people to make sure they feel comfortable going

[42:46] to the store, walking in a park, safe at home.

[42:51] So you're gonna have to streamline some things

[42:55] and make sure your budget is accounted for

[42:57] and cut back on some things.

[42:59] I've been through that in oh way. It wasn't pleasant.

[43:02] But the key is to make sure everybody stays employed

[43:05] and maybe through attrition you just don't fill some

[43:08] positions and you wait and you move on

[43:11] and see if it balances back.

[43:19] Brent, future budget challenges.

[43:21] Thanks. I'm gonna go back real quick

[43:23] to the Second Amendment

[43:25] and some statements made about the red flag law.

[43:28] I don't believe it serves a purpose at all.

[43:29] It's not due process, it's not in the second Amendment

[43:32] and it's a violation of our constitutional rights.

[43:35] We've had one, we've had one red flag law

[43:41] come to the Garfield County Sheriff's Office here

[43:43] and we handled it appropriately

[43:45] and that we didn't go enforce it.

[43:47] We went and talked to the family

[43:48] and said, Hey, your dad's having a rough time having some

[43:51] mental health issues, let's go help him.

[43:54] And the family reached out and went out and helped him

[43:56] because as soon as you put law enforcement

[43:59] with guns against a person who's mentally unstable

[44:02] with guns, you're gonna end up with a horrible outcome.

[44:05] And we don't want that on the onto the budget.

[44:08] Yes, we have to protect core services, patrol, detentions,

[44:12] emergency operations, fires, search and rescue.

[44:15] We have to protect all those within the budget.

[44:17] We've started already started making

[44:19] moves in the sheriff's office.

[44:21] We took a admin spot and moved it over to patrol

[44:23] because it could be better served there

[44:25] and we needed it there to provide better services

[44:27] to the citizens of Garfield County.

[44:30] I'd be curious to know what's not needed.

[44:32] What are we gonna cut from the budget We've made cuts

[44:34] to the budget to balance it this year

[44:37] and if we're forced to do that again next year,

[44:39] which it doesn't sound like we're gonna be,

[44:40] sounds like we're gonna be status quo,

[44:42] but what are we gonna cut?

[44:46] We've made cuts and we can do it again.

[44:50] We made cuts to training and overtime

[44:51] and that's where we save that money.

[44:54] So if it's needed to do it again, we'll do it again.

[44:57] But again, I think again, what's important to the citizens

[45:00] of Garfield County is those core services

[45:02] and we have to continue funding those.

[45:04] Thanks.

[45:10] This is another interesting question from the public

[45:12] residents in some of the more rural

[45:14] or outlying parts of Garfield County

[45:16] have concerns about patrol coverage and response times.

[45:20] How would you address those concerns? Brent

[45:26] Garfield County is 3000 square miles

[45:29] and we're just north of 63,000 people currently.

[45:35] We have a large county to cover

[45:37] and that's why we need so many deputies.

[45:40] We are fully staffed currently in the patrol

[45:43] division, which really helps.

[45:46] I just got an email last week

[45:48] or two weeks ago from a county resident saying, Hey,

[45:52] I really appreciate seeing the deputies back out on the

[45:53] county roads and that's because now we can staff that

[45:56] and get the guys out to where they need to be.

[45:59] We are looking into the future to

[46:03] take the emergency operations division

[46:05] and put them over a rural patrol unit to

[46:07] where we put deputies out on the flat tops out on Douglas

[46:10] pass out in those areas during busy times

[46:13] to make sure we're getting coverage out there.

[46:16] But I don't disagree with the comment that we need

[46:19] to get more deputies back out on the county

[46:20] roads and off the interstate.

[46:24] Yeah, Well it's my,

[46:27] it's my philosophy, it's real simple.

[46:29] You give that directive to your leadership

[46:31] and if that's not being done, you address that.

[46:34] If you're fully staffed shouldn't be an issue.

[46:37] You tell your rank, we need officers in these areas.

[46:41] We're having a traffic issue

[46:43] or speeding issue in this areas.

[46:46] I know it's not always feasible when calls

[46:48] for service are maybe a priority,

[46:50] but we encounter the same things in every law enforcement.

[46:53] I think one of the biggest issues in every law enforcement

[46:55] locally is parking and traffic.

[46:57] Probably the complaints that come in quite regularly, right?

[47:00] I mean we get a lot of those people calling in

[47:02] neighborhoods, people are speeding, parking on the street

[47:05] and that can be very bothersome to a lot.

[47:08] But when time there's downtime, you get out there

[47:10] and you run radar and you contact the public

[47:14] and you enforce that.

[47:17] And those people out in those county roads are just

[47:21] as equally important as anywhere else.

[47:23] And we should be out there.

[47:24] Every law, every municipality in Garfield County has its own

[47:28] law enforcement agencies.

[47:31] So there's no reason we shouldn't be

[47:32] out there enforcing those.

[47:38] Next question for Dan,

[47:40] what role should the sheriff's office play in cooperating

[47:42] with ICE Spear

[47:44] and local municipalities on immigration related issues?

[47:49] Well, as much as we would all want to, that rolls outlined

[47:54] by our legislators.

[47:55] We have very limited enforcement, which was set out

[47:59] by our legislators and government.

[48:01] There's laws on the books that we as law enforcement can't

[48:05] take enforcement action if that that's gonna cost.

[48:09] Our fully staffing levels are gonna drop.

[48:12] And the way that legislators are passing laws now is they're

[48:15] holding those officers personally liable.

[48:17] They can hold that officer up to 50,000 personally liable.

[48:21] We all know officers don't make a lot of money

[48:26] and then we don't wanna put 'em in that position.

[48:28] So we gotta know our lane.

[48:30] We have to respect our lane

[48:32] and stay within our laws whether we like it or not.

[48:35] We have to comply with that.

[48:36] This may not something we, we may want to do,

[48:39] but we have to stay within our laws and,

[48:42] and you know, I'm all about working

[48:44] with our federal partners.

[48:46] I think we've all done that. They live in our communities.

[48:50] They want safe communities just like everybody else,

[48:54] but we also don't want to be violating our federal,

[48:57] our state laws and getting

[48:58] and jeopardizing our deputies and our officers.

[49:01] So I think that's important.

[49:09] Brent, two minutes. I agree

[49:12] that legislation has totally hamstrung us as it comes

[49:17] to immigration enforcement.

[49:19] It's not our job

[49:21] and it's not something we're allowed to be involved in.

[49:25] I would say, and I'll steal this from a,

[49:30] for a former opponent

[49:32] and a really good guy, that we

[49:38] have to continue to work as a team with our federal partners

[49:42] and we have to make sure we're working with them

[49:47] to steal a line from my former opponent.

[49:50] We are still allowed to work with ICE

[49:53] and HSI on criminal investigations.

[49:55] That hasn't stopped. We're just not allowed to work

[49:57] with them on immigration issues.

[50:00] But when there's really bad people in our community doing

[50:03] really bad things, we're gonna work

[50:05] with every federal agency we can

[50:06] to remove them from our community

[50:08] and we will continue to do that.

[50:10] Spear has done a great job.

[50:11] They are co-located again with DEA and HSI as well

[50:15] because we wanna do those joint criminal investigations

[50:19] to remove bad people from our community.

[50:21] Whichever way that takes.

[50:23] If they're doing crime, they need to leave. Thank you.

[50:33] We've touched a bit on, on mental health

[50:39] for guests of the Garfield County Jail.

[50:42] What about the, the deputies, the staff,

[50:45] how important Brett is mental

[50:48] and physical health when you're serving the community?

[50:52] Super important. We have a very strong peer support team

[50:57] at the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

[50:58] The second to none, it's led by a doctor.

[51:02] We have a doctor employed within the sheriff's office thanks

[51:05] to Sheriff Valerio.

[51:07] I mean you won't get that anywhere else

[51:09] but here we provide our people

[51:12] with the best mental health support that we can find.

[51:17] We contract with what's called Code four counseling

[51:20] and they provide counseling sessions free

[51:22] of charge every month to any deputy that wants it.

[51:26] We have to take care of our people.

[51:29] Second to that is the physical side.

[51:32] And you know, I have a plan already put forward

[51:35] that we are gonna start making deputies not making,

[51:37] we're gonna start letting deputies work out on duty

[51:40] and making sure their physical side's taken care of as well.

[51:44] That's, again, I, I keep going back to it, the climate

[51:47] and culture at the Garfield County

[51:48] Sheriff's Office is a great place.

[51:50] People wanna work here, they wanna come work for us,

[51:53] they wanna come work with us because we have these programs

[51:55] and because we support 'em.

[51:59] Yeah, I,

[52:01] I think physical fitness is highly impor important

[52:04] and a priority along with mental health Peer support's.

[52:09] Great. I think every agency has it. It's nothing new.

[52:13] But one thing we do more

[52:14] and above that is we require every one of our employees

[52:18] included administrative staff

[52:20] to do a mental health wellness check

[52:22] with a mental health professional

[52:25] that is required every once a year.

[52:27] We just did it two weeks ago.

[52:28] They meet with their mental health professional.

[52:30] They don't tell us anything about it.

[52:32] They just sign a document that they met.

[52:33] It's signed by the doctor.

[52:34] We put it in our, and we, we chart it

[52:37] just like a doctor's physical is

[52:39] important, so is the mental health.

[52:42] It's just not about peer support,

[52:44] but our officers see a lot,

[52:45] we can't just ask 'em to bury it.

[52:48] So they go and see with a, a mental health provider

[52:52] of their choosing and they meet with them once a year.

[52:55] On top of that, law enforcement officers are having heart

[52:59] attacks between 46, 43 to 49 years of age.

[53:03] Corrections officers is three times that.

[53:07] We contracted with a company called Sigma.

[53:09] They come in, they draw your blood, they,

[53:13] and this is offered to staff their spouses as well

[53:16] because of the work we do.

[53:17] They send your blood screen into the Cleveland Heart Lab.

[53:21] They do a seven page panel.

[53:23] They come back to your office, our office at this last year

[53:28] and they do artery ultrasounds to see

[53:31] what your plaque buildup is.

[53:33] They put you on a bike

[53:34] and collect your breath particles

[53:36] to see what you should be eating.

[53:37] To make a long story short,

[53:41] law enforcement average is at 42%

[53:43] at risk for a heart attack.

[53:45] That should be concerning to everybody in this room.

[53:48] Our agency was at 38% at risk.

[53:51] We don't do it to scare officers.

[53:53] We do it to catch that early and reverse it.

[53:57] Officers been caught for cancer based off this screening.

[54:01] We save longer on insurance,

[54:02] but that's a priority that we need to implement now.

[54:06] Not peer support, that's important as well.

[54:09] But so is that physical wellness.

[54:18] Final question. Let's do deals with

[54:23] incident command response.

[54:27] For those of us who've lived in this county long enough,

[54:29] we've experienced some incredible devastating

[54:34] natural disasters.

[54:35] Fires just every summer

[54:38] and we're anticipating a rough year ahead.

[54:45] Storm king, coal seam, grizzly Creek,

[54:47] and the list goes on and on.

[54:54] Brent, what have you learned over the years

[54:57] about incident command

[54:59] and what could be improved when in terms

[55:03] of interagency cooperation, when it comes to

[55:07] natural disasters or protecting the public

[55:09] and keeping people informed?

[55:13] Yeah, so we unfortunately are experts here in Garfield

[55:17] County on disasters.

[55:20] It's just, unfortunately we live in a beautiful area

[55:23] and a great county, but it comes with a price

[55:26] and that is wildland fires, mudslides

[55:28] and all the rest of the stuff.

[55:30] And so we have become experts on responding to those.

[55:35] I would say what we can improve on and we need to improve on

[55:39] and if you've seen any of my stuff online

[55:41] or anything else, is we need to do better

[55:43] with communicating with our public.

[55:45] We don't do a good job of communicating

[55:47] with our public what's going on when those emergency

[55:49] disasters are help are happening.

[55:51] And so we need to do a better job on that.

[55:53] And I'm committed on day one again to improving that

[55:57] communication with our public

[55:58] and make sure if the public knows why what we're doing

[56:01] and why we're doing it, they're always supportive

[56:04] and we really appreciate that.

[56:07] As far as fires go, that's our biggest disaster

[56:09] that we usually see as,

[56:10] and again, unfortunately we're experts on it.

[56:14] We have an emergency operations division staffed

[56:16] by three highly trained, really excellent deputies

[56:20] who do a great job with that.

[56:22] They are all NIMS instructors,

[56:24] national Incident Management systems.

[56:25] So they actually go out

[56:26] and teach the incident management system to other

[56:31] agencies and they do a great job with that.

[56:33] We have a great working relationship

[56:35] with our fire departments.

[56:37] So if a fire starts in a local fire district, it's on

[56:39] that local fire district to handle that fire

[56:41] until it becomes a outside of their ability

[56:46] and then it gets turned over to the county,

[56:47] it gets turned over to the sheriff's office

[56:49] and then we take over managing that fire.

[56:51] When it gets too big for us, then it goes

[56:53] to the federal government and they come in

[56:55] with their million dollar a day teams and take over.

[56:58] I've been fortunate to be incident command on several

[57:01] of our large fires here recently.

[57:03] The one in Ruralton that took,

[57:04] unfortunately took out a house.

[57:07] I was the first incident commander on that scene

[57:10] and am proud of the work CRFR, grand Valley Fire

[57:13] and the rest of the fire departments did there.

[57:15] Thanks

[57:19] Dan.

[57:20] Sure. You know I've lived in this valley, I've seen those,

[57:24] but I've also been the, I was one

[57:26] of the first ones on scene on the Lake Christine, which is,

[57:29] you know, that was a huge fire along

[57:31] with Grizzly Creek Derby Mesa Fire last year.

[57:33] But one thing that we discovered

[57:35] that's a flaw in the system, Eagle Garfield County overlaps

[57:39] with Eagle and Pickin County.

[57:41] The evacuation procedures are a flaw at this moment.

[57:44] 'cause there's no communication.

[57:45] Everybody uses a different evacuation system.

[57:48] That's a problem that needs to be addressed.

[57:50] We don't wanna lose a life because people aren't getting the

[57:52] messages to be evacuated.

[57:54] How can we have so many incidences?

[57:56] And that hasn't been addressed yet.

[58:00] I know where I live, I have one way in and one way out.

[58:03] I agree with Mr. Baker Ridge.

[58:04] We live in a beautiful place,

[58:06] but there's no reason we shouldn't be all getting together.

[58:09] And that's, and and sitting down

[58:11] with all these other agencies and federal partners

[58:13] and our local partners of creating one evacuation system

[58:18] because our counties overlap and talk to one another.

[58:21] One thing that I would implement if I was a,

[58:23] is an incident management team.

[58:24] We created that in Eagle County and that has been great.

[58:28] We work together and you work things out

[58:30] and you troubleshoot.

[58:32] Not after an incident in the middle of an incident.

[58:37] We've been fortunate enough that we haven't lost lives.

[58:40] Nobody wants to do that,

[58:42] but we have to have great messaging to the public.

[58:45] But it's not a PIO report or a social media report.

[58:51] It's you need to pack and you need to go.

[58:53] You need to message the public

[58:54] and have things ready so they can get out.

[58:57] But one thing during these major incidents, one thing

[58:59] that we've recover discovered is the messaging

[59:02] on the outlining skirts of the county where it overlaps.

[59:06] They're not talking to one another.

[59:07] And that can be problematic.

[59:09] And an incident management team, if created,

[59:12] doesn't cost more money.

[59:13] It's just getting the partnerships together

[59:15] can communicate and resolve that.

[59:23] Before we get to closing statements, I wanna thank

[59:27] the Colorado River Valley Chamber of Commerce.

[59:29] Thank you, Aaron. That our timers,

[59:36] the City of Rifle, pat Dupre,

[59:40] and his staff here at the Ute

[59:41] for providing us a wonderful venue.

[59:48] This form has been carried live on

[59:50] Rifle Community television.

[59:52] Thank you to Michael Churchill and his staff.

[59:56] And it'll be available for replay.

[59:58] It's been carried live on kts.com

[1:00:01] and on K MTSS Facebook page.

[1:00:04] So it's covered.

[1:00:05] If you miss something, it it'll be available,

[1:00:08] it'll be archived and very important information

[1:00:14] that's gonna do it.

[1:00:16] Oh,

[1:00:17] Three to four Minutes.

[1:00:18] Okay. Okay.

[1:00:22] We're gonna get to closing statements now.

[1:00:24] And I want to, again, thank the, the candidates

[1:00:28] for your willingness to serve the community

[1:00:31] and put yourself out there.

[1:00:33] I wanna thank the audience for their participation

[1:00:35] and the good questions.

[1:00:40] Since we have a little extra time,

[1:00:43] we're finishing a bit early, we will start with Dan

[1:00:47] and each of you'll get I'll,

[1:00:49] I'll just give you, you know, three or four minutes.

[1:00:50] You can just kind of take your time

[1:00:52] for your closing thoughts.

[1:00:53] Ooh,

[1:00:59] Thanks Ron.

[1:01:00] I appreciate it. You know, I'll start off by these last four

[1:01:04] or five months has just been

[1:01:07] something I'd never thought I'd ever do.

[1:01:10] It's been humbling.

[1:01:11] I want to thank all the supporters

[1:01:15] and everyone that I've interacted with

[1:01:18] through the whole entire Garfield County area.

[1:01:22] It's, it's, it has really pushed me

[1:01:26] To the levels I didn't think I had.

[1:01:28] I've learned so much as myself.

[1:01:31] Watching my wife go through it

[1:01:32] with me has just been humbling and, and an honor.

[1:01:34] Along with my campaign team, I've gotten to know people

[1:01:39] and supported by people

[1:01:41] and encouraged by people

[1:01:42] that I never thought would be in my corner.

[1:01:45] And after 30 years in law enforcement to start

[1:01:48] to realize a few things that after this career, what's next?

[1:01:53] And I've been here my whole life.

[1:01:55] I grew up here, raised my family here.

[1:01:57] I also wanna recognize Mr. Brent Baker.

[1:01:59] This is not something that I will tell you.

[1:02:02] I've been through a lot of battles in my life.

[1:02:04] I've been drug through a lot of things in my life

[1:02:06] and working cases.

[1:02:08] I've been in the courtroom with some

[1:02:09] of the best attorneys in the country

[1:02:11] and been cross examined.

[1:02:14] Kobe Bryant put me through the ringer.

[1:02:15] I'll tell you that right now. And we think we've both

[1:02:19] learned a lot about ourselves, our family,

[1:02:22] and it's been an honor to, to run this campaign and,

[1:02:26] and be a part of it, and interact with everybody here,

[1:02:29] to my friends and my family.

[1:02:30] I can't thank you enough. I, I really can't.

[1:02:33] You kept me motivated

[1:02:35] and pushed me when I, I didn't think I'd be pushed.

[1:02:38] But with that said, I'd be honored to be your sheriff.

[1:02:42] I got 30 years. I started at the bottom pushing a room.

[1:02:48] I've worked myself through the ranks.

[1:02:50] I've seen the worst cases of humanity

[1:02:52] that you could ever see.

[1:02:55] I've sat around

[1:02:57] and I've, I've sat in interview rooms,

[1:02:59] interviewing murderers,

[1:03:01] and still try to leave there, trying to make that family

[1:03:04] that day better, which you can't.

[1:03:08] And those, the last six years of my career,

[1:03:10] I continue to learn and to grow.

[1:03:14] And I've vowed to myself is, as long as I continue to do

[1:03:17] that, I'm gonna continue to try to serve.

[1:03:21] And I want to serve Garfield County

[1:03:22] where it's my home, where I live here.

[1:03:25] I'll live here my whole life.

[1:03:27] And I'm sure I will make mistakes along the way. We all do.

[1:03:31] But it's how you recover from those mistakes.

[1:03:35] But one thing that I can tell you is I'm proud of

[1:03:38] where I've been and what I've learned.

[1:03:41] I've been promoted under three different sheriffs.

[1:03:44] Sadly one of 'em passed away today.

[1:03:49] But we're still gonna move forward.

[1:03:50] That's one thing about this profession.

[1:03:52] When you encounter some of the worst things

[1:03:54] that you could ever imagine, you still gotta get up

[1:03:56] and put your, pull yourself up from your

[1:03:58] bootstraps and move forward.

[1:04:02] But I will tell you, we wanna represent one another

[1:04:06] and represent the badge in the best uniform that we can.

[1:04:08] Because of you. We wanna

[1:04:13] provide a service to make sure you're protected.

[1:04:16] And when you call that, we respond.

[1:04:20] But I want to be able to learn and still grow.

[1:04:25] I also want to be able to serve

[1:04:27] the other part of our community.

[1:04:31] We have Latinos in the community

[1:04:32] that they don't feel they have representation.

[1:04:35] And regardless of where you're at with the ice

[1:04:38] situation, there's fear in there.

[1:04:40] And that's a cultural thing.

[1:04:42] They would like someone that they can speak to.

[1:04:45] I work major cases in where they would only speak to me

[1:04:50] 'cause I could speak their native language.

[1:04:54] And they're here and they live in your community.

[1:04:56] They go to school with your kids, they're your neighbors.

[1:05:01] And I would like, and I'd be honored to serve

[1:05:04] as your Garfield County Sheriff.

[1:05:06] I'm not gonna sit here and give you the rhetoric.

[1:05:08] My experience, I think you've all heard it for the last,

[1:05:12] well, five months and not this last hour.

[1:05:17] But thank you for your time. Thank you for your efforts.

[1:05:21] Thank you for listening.

[1:05:22] And thank you for all those that have stood beside us,

[1:05:26] not just me, but also through Brent Baker

[1:05:29] for the last nine months in my race since January.

[1:05:34] Thank you,

[1:05:42] Grant, you have the floor.

[1:05:44] Thank you. I would like to start

[1:05:47] by thanking the Colorado River Valley Chamber, KMTS,

[1:05:50] the Ute Theater and Rifle Community TV

[1:05:51] for hosting this forum

[1:05:53] and providing the opportunity

[1:05:54] for the community to hear from us.

[1:05:56] I would second like to thank my supporters.

[1:05:59] They work really, really hard

[1:06:02] and I appreciate everything they do.

[1:06:05] So thank you, thank you, thank you so much.

[1:06:08] My wife, Gina, my kids Marshall and Kimber.

[1:06:11] Shout out Marshall, wherever you are, buddy.

[1:06:15] But thank you so much. It's been, whoa,

[1:06:19] it's been a crazy nine months.

[1:06:20] And lemme tell you, I've learned a lot about

[1:06:22] politics in the last nine months.

[1:06:26] But let's talk about the election, the election's,

[1:06:28] about leadership trust

[1:06:31] and the future of Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

[1:06:34] The sheriff, whom the people

[1:06:35] of Garfield County have elected a record six times.

[1:06:38] Trust me to carry forward the legacy he has built,

[1:06:42] the dedicated men and women

[1:06:43] of the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.

[1:06:44] Trust me, to lead this organization into the future.

[1:06:47] Most importantly, the people

[1:06:48] of Garfield County have trusted me for the past 24 years

[1:06:51] to protect this community.

[1:06:53] And today I'm asking for

[1:06:55] that trust once again from the Garfield County community.

[1:06:58] As your next sheriff, I'll continue to lead a professional,

[1:07:00] accountable, and exceptional sheriff's office

[1:07:02] that puts the safety and needs of our citizens.

[1:07:04] First, I'll be honored

[1:07:07] to earn your vote in the Republican primary here in June 9th

[1:07:11] through June 30th vote.

[1:07:12] Brent Baker for Sheriff, thank you

[1:07:22] Once again.

[1:07:23] Ballots will go in the mail on Tuesday, June 9th.

[1:07:27] You should be receiving them next week.

[1:07:28] And the primary is June 30th. Thank you for attending.

[1:07:32] Have a great evening.

[1:07:40] I even

[1:07:41] want, I don't

[1:07:47] Ever,

[1:08:03] Yeah,

[1:08:17] Yeah, that was good,

[1:08:40] Aaron.

Garfield County Sheriff Candidate Forum • hosted by the CRV Chamber at the Ute • Jun 3, 2026

Agenda

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