Sheriff Bill Elder re-elected in El Paso County

El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder, 61, was re-elected Tuesday night after defeating Democratic challenger Grace Sweeney-Maurer.

KRDO called the election as of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. Elder had 114,082 (66 percent) votes to Sweeney-Maurer’s 57,356 — considered a landslide victory.

“We’re on the right track and I think the voters see that,” Elder said during a gathering for local Republican candidates at the Colorado Springs Country Club.

Sweeney-Mauer, 61, was in her first political race and said she thought she had a chance to win, even though most observers considered her a long shot who lacked the necessary experience.

“A lot of people see the Sheriff’s Office as a good-ole-boys club that doesn’t represent everyone,” she said. “I heard from citizens from both parties in some of the rural areas that they don’t feel represented. They wanted a change.”

Elder was so confident of victory that he has already begun setting goals for his next term.

“I want to continue the great cooperation we have with other law enforcement agencies in the county,” he said. “That’s my top priority because I’ll need their help to address overcrowding at the Criminal Justice Center.”

The CJC, or county jail, has more than 1,700 inmates.

“It wasn’t built to handle that many and I don’t have the staff for it,” Elder said.

Sweeney-Maurer believes the solution is to replace deputies with corrections officers at the jail.

“Deputies who are trained to be on patrol and working in communities shouldn’t be working in a jail,” she said. “That takes a different set of skills.”

Both candidates addressed the need to improve morale within the Sheriff’s Office and increase public trust, after abuse of power accusations against former Sheriff Terry Maketa, and one of his former co-defendants now suing the county for defamation of character.

“I think we’re improving in that regard,” Elder said. “It’s not easy to turn things around in an organization of this size. I had to replace 43 of the 51 sergeants, 15 of the 21 lieutenants, all seven commanders and both bureau chiefs. That was necessary to change the direction of the agency and that’s what I was hired to do.”

Elder said he didn’t campaign in the days before the election.

“I decided it was better for me to be at work and do what citizens expect me to do,” he said.

Elder said his staff of 850 and devoted supporters played a big part in his re-election.

“I’m excited about what the future holds,” he said.

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Voters in El Paso County will choose between re-electing the current sheriff or a political newcomer Tuesday.

Sheriff Bill Elder is seeking a second term. He defeated Mike Angley in the Republican primary, 58 percent to 42 percent.

Grace Sweeney-Maurer ran unchallenged in the Democratic primary, receiving nearly 39,000 votes, compared to almost 50,000 gathered by Elder.

Elder hasn’t revealed his goals for the office if he wins, but this year he has kept his promise to strengthen enforcement of illegal marijuana operations and illegal homeless camps.

Sweeney-Maurer formerly worked for the U.S Department of Justice and the Honolulu Police Department. If elected, she promises an open-door policy, to improve morale within the Sheriff’s Office and to increase public trust in the office.

By state law, the sheriff’s salary is $111,100.

KRDO NewsChannel 13 will speak with both candidates Tuesday and have more coverage of the race throughout the day.