Sheriff's debate centers on jail manpower issue

Sheriff Terry Maketa continually dismissed Monument Police Chief Jake Shirk’s ideas as naive on Tuesday night at the first debate between the two opponents in the Republican primary race for El Paso County Sheriff.

The debate centered on Shirk’s proposal to replace deputies at the Criminal Justice Center with civilians to bolster street patrol. Shirk accused Maketa of putting too many resources in the jail and Maketa said Shirk lacks a full view of what the sheriff’s seat requires.

“The job requires a broad picture, not someone who sits around worrying about response times all day. The plate and job is much bigger than that,” Maketa said.

By turning the jail over to civilians, the county could potentially lose its lucrative contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “you will de-professionalize one of the best jails in the state,” Maketa told Shirk.

The battle to win the Republican slot on the November ballot is the only El Paso County race in the Aug. 10 primary, and it’s drawn considerable interest. About 125 people showed up to listened to the candidates Tuesday.

Shirk told the crowd that he ran a 204-bed jail in Aurora with largely civilian employees.
“Let’s get those powers of arrest out on the street,” Shirk said.

Maketa brought on the race by announcing in January that the job had lost its allure and he wouldn’t seek a third term. That opened the door for Shirk, who declined to step aside after

Maketa changed his mind in February and stepped back in the race.

When Maketa’s change of heart was brought up at Tuesday’s debate, Shirk told the crowd that Maketa said at a private meeting early in year that he had “lost the fire in his belly” for the position. Maketa said his passion was reinvigorated by an outpouring of pleas from the community for him to run again.

Shirk said that, if elected, he would run more classes through the sheriff’s reserve deputy academy to further reduce strain on sworn deputies, reduce the undersheriff’s $110,000 per year salary and take deputies out of administrative roles such as public information and put them back on the street.

“None of these are new ideas,” Maketa said. “In fact, I think some of them are taken right out of my playbook.”

Maketa took every opportunity to tout his political influence in county, state and federal governments and responded to criticism of his budget with claims that he’s done the best that can be done under the laws and policies by which the sheriff must abide.

“You have statutory mandates breathing down your neck that don’t offer any flexibility,” Maketa said.

The primary winner will face John “Doc” Holiday, running as an independent, in November.
A second and final debate is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Sand Creek Library, 1821 S. Academy Blvd.