At Monitor Forum, Candidates Find Much to Agree On

In a Volunteer Hall decked out in spider webs and skeletons for “Fright Night” festivities, candidates for County Commissioner and Sheriff faced off Monday evening at a Boulder Monitor Forum – most often revealing how much they agreed on key issues facing Jefferson County.

The forum brought together four native Montanans, all of them longtime residents of Jefferson County with extensive careers as public servants. Chad Cross and Tom Grimsrud, who are vying for the Sheriff’s job, both have worked in Jefferson County law enforcement for about two decades. Dan Hagerty, a candidate for the County Commission seat that will open up with Leonard Wortman’s retirement, likewise spent 37 years in law enforcement; his opponent, Mary Janacaro Hensleigh, has been mayor of Whitehall for nine years.

The Sheriff’s and County Commissioner’s posts are the only contested local races to be decided on November 8. Candidates are running unopposed for county attorney, clerk and recorder, treasurer, schools superintendent, and justice of the peace. Incumbent state representative Marta Bertoglio likewise faces no challenge for reelection.

In his opening statement, Grimsrud described his devotion to “servant leadership” – supporting his staff to ensure their effectiveness and well-being. He also emphasized the need for effective coordination and communication – with other government agencies, with the County Commission, and with the public. “Open communication is the key with anything,” he said.

Cross reflected on his commitment to public safety: “I was 17 years old when I took my first oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. That oath is just as important to me now as it was then.”

The sheriff candidates agreed on the need to keep up with constantly changing threats to public safety. Cross said he’s most concerned about the explosion of new sorts of crimes tethered to the Internet and social media. For Grimsrud, it’s the emergence and proliferation of new narcotics such as fentanyl; that drug hasn’t yet spread locally, “but it’s so hard to stop, because we literally can’t stop it from being made.”

Grimsrud observed that calls and complaints related to traffic have soared. “Too many people driving way too fast,” he said. The Sheriff’s office, he noted, has just 14 deputies, and crime investigations often take those officers away from shift work.

Asked how he might allocate any additional budget funds, Grimsrud responded, “more officers working the streets,” as well as investment in school resource officers and in new equipment. Cross emphasized the need for training: “school resource training, active-shooter training. I can’t harp on training enough. This job is always changing, and if you think you know it all, you’re wrong.”

How do the sheriff candidates differ? Responding to Boulder resident Jeff Rowe’s question, Grimsrud, who is famously garrulous, observed, “I tend to be a little bit more of an extrovert.” Looking at Cross, his colleague of 20 years, he said: “I believe Chad is a little more of an introvert.” Cross replied, “Oh, yeah,” prompting laughter among the audience.

The Commission candidates appeared even more closely aligned. They agreed, for example, on the need for citizens in all corners of the county to be better informed about the workings of local government. “I’d like to see…transparency in communications for all of Jefferson County,” Hagerty said, advocating that recordings of public meetings be made available online.

Asked about the county’s planning function and its approach to residential and commercial development, Hensleigh said, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The [approval] process works fairly smoothly. Hagerty responded: “Mary thinks the way I do.”

Responding to a question from Pam Hanna, the county’s public health director, on their vision for serving public health, the candidates both declared that mental health should be a priority. The county, like many rural communities, has long lacked access to mental health services. And “people need to be educated on what [mental health] is about and how it affects everyone,” Hagerty said.

Hensleigh agreed; she also said she hoped that the county would go through with the purchase of the Boulder building formerly occupied by The River restaurant — allowing for expanded space for the public health department. (That purchase, discussed at the Commission’s Oct. 18 meeting, is still in limbo. See story, page 1.)

The Commission candidates also agreed on the need to ensure sustainable growth. Hensleigh noted that Whitehall is working to annex properties that will allow the construction within city limits of small units that address the need for affordable housing – but she expressed concern about the proliferation of subdivisions that threatened to contaminate water supplies.

Hagerty said that managing growth will continue to be the county’s most important issue. Growth “affects our infrastructure — roads, bridges, transportation, public safety, and broadband structure. We have to take that all into consideration, because if you don’t have one or the other, and water is the primary one, you can’t develop anything.”

Hensleigh replied: “I agree with Dan 100%. Well said.”