David Lucero officially appointed Pueblo County sheriff 3 weeks before election

With three weeks left before the general election, Pueblo County commissioners appointed current undersheriff and Democratic candidate David Lucero to serve the final two months of Kirk Taylor’s term.

Taylor has been appointed to serve as a U.S. marshal and will relocate to Denver for the role.

Commissioner Garrison Ortiz said that county commissioners have the statutory authority to appoint a replacement sheriff. Commissioners discussed the legal process for appointing a new sheriff in executive session last week.

Read the full article from the Pueblo Chieftain's Anna Lynn Winfrey

Meet the candidates: Lucero and Musso compete to be Pueblo County's next sheriff

In the 2022 Pueblo County sheriff's race, Undersheriff David Lucero and deputy Joey Musso are vying to replace outgoing Sheriff Kirk Taylor as the county's top law enforcement official.

Taylor opted not to run for a fifth term following his nomination by President Joe Biden to serve as U.S. Marshal for the district of Colorado.

The Chieftain recently sat down with both candidates to talk about their priorities for the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office if elected.

Read the full article on the Pueblo Chieftain

Sheriff Kirk Taylor supports Dave Lucero as Pueblo County's next sheriff

Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor announced Friday he is a finalist for a new law enforcement job and as a result, is not planning to run for a fifth term in office.

Taylor, a Democrat, is nearing the end of his 15th year as the county’s top law enforcement official and is scheduled to serve through early January 2023.

"As I continue as a finalist in another law enforcement endeavor, I believe that it would be inappropriate and disingenuous for me to announce my candidacy for re-election in 2022,” he explained.

If he does not get the other job, he and his wife of 36 years, Cassy, are prepared to give retirement a try. Taylor, who grew up in Rye, started his law enforcement career in 1987 with the Alamosa Police Department and worked several years as an investigator for the district attorney’s office under Gus Sandstrom before running for the sheriff’s job.

Taylor supports Dave Lucero as Pueblo County's next sheriff.

Taylor said he will help whoever gets elected as the new sheriff, but he is throwing his support to one candidate he knows very well. Long-time Pueblo County Sheriff Bureau Chief Dave Lucero, also a Democrat, currently oversees the jail operations and plans to run for sheriff next year.

“He was a detective in investigations when I started in 2006,” Taylor said. “He has grown as a manager and has been in the bureau chief position for both the law enforcement division and the detention division, which he runs now.

“He has helped me and the leadership team deal with a myriad of challenges and really is the only guy with the tools to take this agency forward."

View full article on PuebloChieftain.com

David J. Lucero announces candidacy for Pueblo County Sheriff

PUEBLO COUNTY – 21-year Law Enforcement veteran, Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office 17-year veteran, and current Bureau Chief, David J. Lucero, announced his 2022 candidacy for Pueblo County Sheriff today. Lucero is running as a Democrat candidate in the November 8, 2022, election.

Lucero was born in Pueblo, CO in 1978 and raised in Raton, New Mexico. He attended and graduated from the University of Southern Colorado (now CSU-Pueblo) with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Lucero served as the appointed chief over all aspects of law enforcement administration supervising two Captains and all Patrol Lieutenants, Sergeants and Deputies, the SWAT team, D.A.R.E. / S.R.O. Deputies, Traffic, Civil Fugitive, Canine (K-9) Unit, Investigations, Narcotics Unit, Sheriff’s Office at Colorado State University-Pueblo, and ACOVA (victims’ assistance). In November 2020, David assumed responsibilities as the Detention Bureau Chief and managed the facilities during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Lucero is a trusted and transformational leader. Lucero continually demonstrates his commitment to the citizens of Pueblo County through community meeting engagement, profession focused education, and innovative policy development. Lucero supports a financially conservative approach, critical over the next three years as the county builds a new jail.

Sheriff Taylor endorses David Lucero as Pueblo County’s next Sheriff. An honor that signifies Taylor’s faith in David’s ability to lead the esteemed agency well into the future.

“I believe in creating and sustaining community dialogue in these dynamic times,” Lucero said. “I look forward to taking on the unique challenges of recruiting and maintaining law enforcement officers, detention deputies, and other critical staff necessary to protect our citizens within Pueblo County.

As Sheriff, Lucero will:

Emphasize and support community and juvenile engagement opportunities such as neighborhood watch, safety fairs, and the school resource officer program.
Enhance the best practices of hiring and retaining quality employees.
Ensure we operate and maintain a safe detention center.
Continue to manage a fiscally responsible agency.
Expand and revitalize the Community Inmate Work Release Program.
Address behavioral health needs and help reduce recidivism.
Continue and enhance programs to address the current state of the mental health and substance abuse issues affecting our community.
Expand and increase traffic enforcement.
Explore opportunities to combine existing office resources by partnering with other local law enforcement agencies to reduce crime.

Learn more about David Lucero through his website luceroforsheriff.com and his Facebook page @LuceroforSheriff.