The candidates for Garfield County sheriff shared their visions for the future of the sheriff’s office and answered community questions during a candidate forum hosted by the Colorado River Valley Chamber of Commerce Wednesday at Rifle’s Ute Theater.

KMTS News Director Ron Milhorn moderated the conversation with Republicans Brent Baker and Dan Loya. 

Although Baker won the GOP nomination for Garfield County sheriff in March, Loya successfully petitioned to appear on the ballot. With no Democratic candidate in the race, the Republican primary slated for June 30 will likely determine the county’s next sheriff, according to Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jackie Harmon.

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The 90-minute forum was broadcast by Rifle Community TV and is available to watch in full on KMTS’s Facebook page. 

Each candidate briefly introduced themselves before answering over a dozen questions regarding the county’s largest public safety issues, the office’s relationship with the public, communication with the community and much more. 

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Top public safety issues in Garfield County 

Milhorn first asked each candidate to explain the biggest public safety challenges currently facing Garfield County and how they would address them as sheriff. 

Loya, Eagle County’s current undersheriff, listed drugs as Garfield County’s top issue. 

“In my opinion, the biggest priority right now is the drug issue. As you guys saw recently, in Eagle County, we seized over 500 fentanyl pills that came through Garfield County” Loya said. “In the ’90s, we had the crack issue. Now we have the fentanyl issue.

“That can be devastating.That is the root of all evil,” he added, later explaining that he created a team in Eagle County dedicated to drug enforcement. “That (leads) to car break ins, issues at home, construction sites being broken into. We’ve got to get a handle on that.”

Baker, a current patrol lieutenant for the Garfield County Sheriff’s Department, agreed that drugs are a problem but said he and Loya differ on enforcement.

“I would agree — drugs are a problem. I think we disagree on how we go about enforcing drugs,” Baker said. “If any of you have a drug house next door to you, where do you want your deputies? Do you want them focusing on the drug force house next to you, or do you want them on the interstate? I want them to focus on my neighbors who are causing me problems. That doesn’t mean we should ignore the interstate.”

Baker later added that the county’s Special Problems Enforcement and Response (SPEAR) Task Force focuses on turning drug cases into larger investigations that catch more than just those who bring illegal substances into the county.

“I don’t want just the drug mule (who is) driving up and down the interstate. I want the person who sent it from the border, and I want to catch them and make sure they go to federal prison where they get real time,” Baker said. “I want to catch the distributor, who’s in Denver, and make sure they get real federal time. I want to catch all that.”

Potential changes within Garfield County Sheriff’s Office 

Milhorn later asked each candidate to describe what being the newly elected Garfield County sheriff would mean to them, what their responsibilities would be for the department and the community and what they would like to change within the sheriff’s office over the next four years.

Baker stated that he’d implement changes in shift duration — from a 12 hour to a 10.5 hour shift — so a swing shift could cover calls during the 4 to 6 p.m. rush hour. He also stated that officers would be allowed to dedicate an hour of each shift towards mental and physical wellness.

He also emphasized the need for a new Garfield County Jail within the next seven years and immediate financial planning for the upgrade.

“The jail is almost 30 years old, and anybody that builds a jail or a prison will tell you that having multiple floors is a bad idea. We’ve got three,” Baker said. “That’s why when you see a prison or a jail anywhere that’s really big, they expand out, they don’t expand up, because when you put inmates in an elevator and rely on an elevator to take people places, it’s not a good solution.”

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Loya stated he’d like to reallocate money in the department’s budget, listing increased animal control in rural Garfield County as a priority, as well as aligning the jail with future state regulations, implementing an employee health and wellness program and increasing community engagement. 

“What it means to me is it’d be a complete honor to be able to serve where I grew up, where I call home, where my family lives and where my parents have been laid to rest. That would be an honor, and that’s what it means to me,” Loya said. “I think it’s a civic responsibility to every law enforcement officer that wears a badge in Garfield County — that’s why they do it.”

Sheriff’s office role in immigration enforcement 

During the second half of the forum, Milhorn asked preapproved questions submitted by audience members. One asked candidates to explain what the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office role should be in cooperating with ICE, SPEAR and local municipalities on immigration-related issues. 

Loya explained that the sheriff’s office has to comply with legislature that limits what immigration related-issues it can be legally involved in. 

“We have to respect our lane and stay within our laws. Whether we like it or not, we have to comply with that,” Loya said. “This may not be something we may want to do, but we have to stay within our laws.

“I’m all about working with our federal partners…They live in our communities. They want safe communities, just like everybody else,” he later added. “But we also don’t want to be violating our federal, our state laws and jeopardizing our deputies and our officers.”

Baker agreed with Loya. 

“It’s not our job, and it’s not something we’re allowed to be involved in,” Baker said, later emphasizing the importance of working with local and federal partners on other issues. 

“When there’s really bad people in our community doing really bad things, we’re gonna work with every federal agency we can to remove them from our community, and we will continue to do that,” Baker added. “SPEAR has done a great job…we want to do those joint criminal investigations to remove bad people from our community, whichever way that takes. They’re doing crime, they need to leave.”

Closing thoughts

After questions, Milhorn gave each candidate around three minutes to present the audience with their closing statements. 

Loya thanked his family and friends for their support and emphasized his desire to represent the county’s Latino community. 

“I’d be honored to be your sheriff. I’ve got 30 years. I started at the bottom pushing a broom and 

I worked myself up in the ranks. I’ve seen the worst cases of humanity that you could ever see,” Loya said. “I’ve sat in interview rooms interviewing murderers and I still try to leave there (and try) to make that family’s day better, which you can’t. 

“In the last six years of my career, I’ve continued to learn how to grow,” he added. “I thought to myself, as long as I continue to do that, I’m going to continue to try to serve.”

Baker also thanked his supporters and the forum hosts. 

“The election is about leadership, trust, and the future of the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office,” Baker said. “The sheriff, whom the people of Garfield County have elected a record six times, trusts me to carry forward the legacy he has built. The dedicated men and women of the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office trust me to lead this organization into the future.

“Most importantly, the people of Garfield County have trusted me for the past 24 years to protect this community,” ” he added. “Today, I’m asking for that trust once again from the Garfield County community.”

For more information on the June 30 Republican Primary Election, visit garfieldcountyco.gov/clerk-recorder/elections/.