Pueblo County sheriff running against former sergeant for seat
Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor faces a familiar face in the race for sheriff.
Retired Pueblo County sheriff’s Sgt. Vic Boley won the Republican primary against Stephen Hasler, former Erie police chief. Boley received 4,552 votes while Hasler garnered 3,885, according to results from the Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder’s office.
Boley believes his nearly 30 years of experience with the sheriff’s office make him the best candidate. If elected, Boley said, he’ll reduce the size of the administration and improve morale in the office.
“I would say the morale is a problem down there,” Boley said. “I think that’s one of the factors in the high turnover rate.”
KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Taylor about the morale in his office. “I tell people — I’m not in charge of your morale. I’m in charge of your motivation. I think every individual person is in charge of their own morale.”
Taylor, a Democrat, is seeking his third, four-year term as sheriff. His top priorities include making sure the new judicial building is fully staffed and implementing a new system to ensure that low-risk offenders aren’t taking up space in the Pueblo County Jail, which Taylor says is overcrowded.
Boley believes the county needs a bigger jail. He wants to find an off-site facility to house non-violent offenders.
“We would like to hire more deputies and I think we can facilitate that by when we reduce the size of the administration,” Boley explained. “We take those savings and we use those for hiring deputies to put on the floors of our detention facilities and streets of our community.”
When KRDO NewsChannel 13 asked Boley what challenges he faces going against a Democratic incumbent in a highly Democratic county, he responded, “Obviously to get the incumbent out is going to be very difficult, but I bring a lot of experience to the table. In our community, I’ve worked with four different sheriffs.”
Taylor said November’s election will indicate whether constituents are proud of the work he’s done for nearly eight years. “We have expanded the sheriff’s office. We have increased deputies since I’ve been here,” he said. “We’ve done a lot in eight years and I’m not done.”
The election will be held on Nov. 4.
