Boulder Monitor editor Charlie Denison visited with Jefferson County Sheriff Candidates Chad Cross and Tom Grimsrud to help provide voters with an in-depth look on why they’re running and how they’d approach the position. For more information on those who are running the Monitor is hosting a candidate forum 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 at Volunteer Hall in the Jefferson County Fairgrounds and by webinar at bit.ly/MonitorForum7.
Chad Cross
A 1998 Jefferson High School graduate, Chad Cross has lived in Jefferson County most his life. It’s a place he says he holds dear, and a large part of that is the people he’s sworn to protect during his 18 years as a full-time peace officer, which includes time as detective and deputy coroner. He’s served both as a Boulder police officer and as a deputy sheriff.
The people of the community and his fellow deputies at the sheriff’s office have inspired him to run, he said.
“I want to be there to look out for them and take care of them and make sure we [The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office] are doing all we can,” he said.
During his time as peace officer in Jefferson County, Cross has risen in the ranks and is now third in command. For the past two years he’s been a captain. He says he’s enjoyed the new responsibilities and takes his role as a leader seriously, inspired by the leadership training he’s done both with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and while serving nine years in the Montana National Guard.
Cross said he knows there will be learning curves with the new position – one being the budget – but he is confident he can work well with other County administrators and make wise choices. “I know the commissioners really well — even the ones who are running,” he said, “and
I’ve also known [Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder] Ginger Kunz. I know they’ll be helpful with the budget.”
Cross said he wants to ensure his office is prepared, come what may. This includes a potential school shooting, which he said the office would be able to handle.
“The sheriff’s office has worked with the schools, incorporating the ‘Run, Lock, Fight’ emergency preparedness training, which we found effective,” he said. “I’d also like to see an SRO [School Resource Officer] position formed.”
The safety of the community is critical, and Cross said he will do everything he can to help keep the people of Jefferson County out of harm’s way. Cracking down on drugs, he said, is a critical place to start.
“The amount of drugs and the type of drugs that are flowing in from our southern border is extremely alarming,” Cross said. “Until things change at the national level we are fighting a losing battle with the amount of drugs coming in. All we can do really is react to it.”
Fortunately, Cross said, Jefferson County isn’t seeing as high an overdose rate as some other counties in the region, but that doesn’t make the problem any less of a concern. Drugs are addictions and treating the problem is like treating any other addiction.
“We need to treat drugs as a mental health issue,” Cross said. “Those committing crimes still need to be held accountable, but going to jail and paying fines doesn’t treat that addiction.”
Cross said he is grateful to serve the people of Jefferson County, and he promises to protect the constitutional rights of the public.
“The Constitution is the law of the land. It spells out not only the rights that the government gives you but your rights as a human being…rights [the] government can’t take away from you.”
Ultimately, Cross added, what matters most to him is what matters to the community. He’s here to listen.
“I can have 1,001 good ideas, but if the people of the county aren’t behind them, those ideas are meaningless,” Cross said. “What matters is what the people want to see and what the others in the Sheriff’s office want to see. If I am not going out and meeting with the public, how can I say I am representing them?”
Tom Grimsrud
Culbertson High School 1988 graduate and former Fairview Chief of Police Tom Grimsrud has been a Jefferson County peace officer since 1999. He remembers those early days well. He also remembers his ambitions when he started.
“I was interviewed by [then] Sheriff Jim Quinlan and he asked me where I saw myself in 10 years. I told him, ‘as the sheriff of Jefferson County,’” Grimsrud recalled.
When Craig Doolittle won the race for sheriff in 2002, Grimsrud said he supported him and respected him as a person and as a mentor. He had no desire to challenge him. But now that Doolittle has announced his retirement, Grimsrud said he is ready to put his hat in the ring, as he still sees himself serving as Jefferson County Sheriff.
When Grimsrud was hired in 1999, he first served as a resident deputy in the Clancy area, where his two children attended Clancy elementary and later Jefferson High School. His children are now grown; his son enrolled in the Army’s 82nd Airborne and his daughter is completing a major in Agricultural Science at Montana State University.
Currently Grimsrud holds the position of Lieutenant.
“Until recently, I was a K-9 handler and the chairman of the DUI Task force,” he said. “I’ve had many responsibilities handed out by the sheriff and the undersheriff, including armed intruder instructor.”
Being an armed intruder instructor is a role Grimsrud said he does not take lightly, as there is a lot of concern right now regarding school safety. In this regard, Grimsrud said it’s critical for the public to trust that the sheriff’s office is prepared for such a situation.
“I want to have an office that is compassionate, empathetic and trustworthy so that the people of the county are comfortable coming to us,” Grimsrud said. “Can you imagine a school incident happening where somebody didn’t feel comfortable calling a deputy or the sheriff?”
Grimsrud said he’d eventually like to see School Resource Officers implemented in Jefferson County, but ultimately that will come down to time management, much of which he said should go toward forming relationships with the public. Grimsrud assures this is what he and his deputies will be doing.
“The new deputies – and even the ones who have been around for a while – show compassion for the community,” he said. “They’re excited about protecting the community and are excited to do their job.”
These deputies, Grimsrud said, have a tough road ahead, as call volumes and crimes are up — especially when it comes to activity related to drugs such as fentanyl. It’s also harder to track down the perpetrators.
“We are never going to stop drug activity, but we can try to keep our thumb on it and discourage those who sell it and use it to avoid Jefferson County,” Grimsrud said.
It’s these situations and these times that Grimsrud said requires “true officers.”
“A true officer wears 20 different hats. This includes knowing the law, knowing how to apply the law, having common sense and applying it to every scenario,” he said. “Being a true officer goes so far beyond enforcement. It falls directly on service.”
Accomplishing the goals Grimsrud aspires to achieve requires much time and attention on the budget, a process Grimsrud said he wants to be transparent. He looks forward to getting insight from the public and Jefferson County commissioners alike.
Most of all, Grimsrud said he is grateful for this opportunity and looks forward to serving the people of Jefferson County and leading the Sheriff’s Office forward. He will do so, he said, with compassion, empathy and thorough communication.
“I promise to articulate why we are doing what we are doing,” he said.
