The candidacy filing period for Wasatch County sheriff has ended with three contenders filing candidacy for the elected role.
Wasatch County’s Emergency Management Director Jeremy Hales, Summit County Sheriff’s Office detective Eric Mainord and incumbent Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby are all vying for the position. All candidates are registered Republicans.
The Wasatch County Republican Party will host a convention in the spring where delegates will select one candidate as the party’s nominee. A primary election will be held if no candidate is able to secure 60% of the vote, though those enrolled in signature gathering could also trigger a primary if they meet the requirements.
Hales has worked in Wasatch County for nearly 25 years. Though he is now the director of emergency management and 911 communications, Hales said his time as a school resource and D.A.R.E. officer stood out to him most.
“My time in the school district was extremely helpful. Working with so many folks in the school district and working with children was really remarkable,” Hales said. “Teaching the D.A.R.E. program and helping children make good choices, teaching them how to do the problem solving,”
In his current role, Hales oversees the 911 center at the Sheriff’s Office to ensure that everything from the emergency calls to the dispatcher’s roles is running smoothly. He also oversees disaster planning.
Hales said he has always had a desire to serve. It’s why he is running for Wasatch County sheriff.
“I have always had a goal to be the sheriff and I feel like, right now, I have almost 25 years of service and now is the time to take that step,” Hales said.
If he is elected, Hales’ top priority would be to strengthen relationships in the Sheriff’s Office and in the community as a whole. Hales said he wants to work hard to take a stance against criminal behavior to make sure Wasatch County residents feel safe and that the Sheriff’s Office is doing “what is expected.”
“We need to have strong relationships, and that’s what I do today; making sure that we have the relationships so that all of the folks, all of the deputies, can continue to be service-oriented,” Hales said.
Hales added that he wants to be accountable to voters and receptive to what the community needs. Hales said the number one thing he wants voters to know is that, if elected, he would “serve with integrity.”
“I care about what (the voters) want, and I want to be held accountable to them,” Hales said.
Mainord, who has worked in law enforcement for 16 years, said the Summit County Sheriff’s Office is providing the example of what he would want to emulate if elected to be the Wasatch County sheriff.
“The whole theme of how we do things is kind of just quiet professionals: seen and not heard,” Mainord said.
Mainord said he is running for Wasatch County sheriff because he wants to give back to his immediate community and “get back to the basics” in Wasatch County. Enforcing the law, he said, is essential and starts with tasks like enforcing traffic law on Main Street in Heber City.
“I think the best way to describe myself is I’m a roll-up-your-sleeves, get in the dirt kind of guy, and that’s how I like to work,” Mainord said.
As a detective working on major crimes and investigations within Summit County, Mainord said he has had a hand in cases such as the aggravated murder case involving Kouri Richins. He said Sheriff’s Office employees, whether in Summit or Wasatch counties, should give the “very best level” of law enforcement and protection to the public.
“We have a saying in our investigations unit, and we like to say we investigate every case as though our grandmother were the victim. I would like to take that work ethic and those principles to Wasatch County,” Mainord said.
If elected, Mainord said his top priority would be to begin restoring public trust and enforcing public safety.
“I don’t care if it’s higher-profile, violent types of cases or something as small as your Amazon packages being stolen off your porch. What my main goal would be is to make sure that those people who want to participate in criminal behavior know that Wasatch County is a terrible place to try it,” Mainord said.
Sheriff Rigby, who is seeking a third term, said he is running for reelection due to the encouragement he has received from his office, but also because there are goals that he would like to see finished.
“I care a great deal about Wasatch County, and we have a great team that’s working well together,” Rigby said.
He said there is not one main priority he would focus on if reelected. Rigby maintains that keeping Wasatch County safe is always the “most important priority,” but that he has goals to further that policy.
Some involve safety on the roads.
“We have a number of accidents and deaths, tragic deaths, that have occurred and we want to help in preventing them,” Rigby said. “And so there’s work to be done in terms of traffic enforcement and traffic education.”
Rigby said his experience working across multiple capacities in the Sheriff’s Office, from corrections to patrol, law enforcement and investigations, makes him well-suited to continue the work. He said he is grateful for the opportunities he has had to serve in his community.
“The most important thing for voters to know is that I love Wasatch County. … I’m grateful for the last 25 years that I’ve been able to serve at the Sheriff’s Office,” Rigby said. “I’m grateful for the chance to work shoulder to shoulder with residents of Wasatch County and the relationships that are built as we are working through, sometimes, some very difficult things.”