Grant County Sheriff's Office candidates address public safety, crime reduction

EPHRATA — As Grant County voters prepare to choose their next sheriff, incumbent Joey Kriete faces challengers Josh Sainsbury and Darrick Gregg in the primary election. To give readers a side-by-side look at each candidate's priorities and plans, all three were asked the same questions and given an equal opportunity to respond. 

In this installment, candidates discuss what they see as the county's biggest public safety concerns and outline the strategies they would pursue to improve community safety. 

Primary ballots must be postmarked or returned by Aug. 4. 

Gregg: The most significant public safety concerns facing Grant County are the increase in gang-related activity and the continued distribution of dangerous drugs throughout our communities. These issues don't just affect one city; they impact families, neighborhoods, schools, and businesses across all of Grant County. 

As sheriff, my priority will be holding violent offenders, gang members, and drug dealers accountable. Criminals need to know that Grant County is not a place where they can operate without consequences. I will work closely with local police departments, state and federal law enforcement partners, the Prosecutor's Office, and our courts to aggressively investigate drug trafficking organizations, target repeat offenders and disrupt criminal networks operating in our county. 

Accountability must be at the center of public safety. When individuals choose to victimize our communities through violence, gang activity, or drug trafficking, they should expect a swift and professional law enforcement response and every lawful effort to hold them responsible for their actions. 

I also recognize that lasting public safety also requires strong partnerships with our communities. My commitment is to provide visible leadership, support proactive policing, and ensure our deputies have the resources they need to protect every one of our 13 cities and our rural communities. My message is simple: if you are bringing violence, organized criminal groups, or illegal drugs into Grant County, we will use every lawful tool available to investigate you, arrest you when there is probable cause, and work with our criminal justice partners to hold you accountable. 

Sainsbury: As we are quickly planning the move to the new jail, we need to get the staff adequately trained with the operation. As the Sheriff, I would be working closely with the Board of County Commissioners to work on staffing to be able to open the facility fully. When law enforcement agencies have the ability to book offenders in jail for crimes they commit, this will keep the public safer. We have to hold the offenders accountable. 

As Sheriff, I will work with legislatures to make personal use drugs a felony. It will take conversations locally and in Olympia to get the law changed so we can hold the offenders accountable. Personal use drugs are a big part of the homelessness, thefts, and burglaries. If we can hold offenders accountable and give them an avenue to get help, they can potentially get back in society as a productive citizen. 

Kriete: The most significant public safety concern facing Grant County is the continued impact of illegal drugs and the crimes that follow. Drug trafficking, addiction, and repeat offenders drive many of the property crimes and quality-of-life issues affecting our communities. Addressing these challenges requires more than traditional law enforcement; it requires innovation, strong partnerships, and a willingness to continually adapt. 

As the incumbent Sheriff, we have already taken meaningful action. We listened to our communities and created a proactive Crime Reduction Team focused on reducing property crimes and holding repeat offenders accountable. We have strengthened our partnerships with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, allowing us to leverage additional resources, intelligence, and specialized expertise to address crime more effectively than any one agency could alone. 

We have also broadened our approach by fully integrating our Corrections Division into our public safety strategy. By assigning an investigator to our jail, we have enhanced intelligence gathering and strengthened criminal investigations using information developed within our incarcerated population. Combined with the innovative work of our Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), these efforts have led to significant arrests and the seizure of large quantities of illegal narcotics before they reached our communities. 

No one strategy alone will solve these challenges, which is why collaboration is one of the greatest strengths of our Sheriff's Office. We will continue seeking new ideas, strengthening partnerships, and implementing proven strategies that reduce crime, improve public safety, and keep Grant County one of the safest and best places to live, work, and raise a family.