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."
