Jordan seeks sheriff's seat

SANDPOINT — If you’re wondering what kind of cloth Bonner County sheriff candidate Rocky Jordan is cut from, look no further than Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Jordan is an unabashed supporter of the Arizona sheriff, who earned the reputation of “America’s Toughest Sheriff” for providing spartan jail conditions, incorporating the color pink into inmate wardrobes and aggressively combating crime.

Jordan, a sheriff’s deputy, is competing with Sandpoint Police Officer Daryl Wheeler, former Deputy Geoff Rusho, former Sheriff Chip Roos and incumbent Sheriff Elaine Savage for the Republican nomination for sheriff in the May 27 primary election.

Jordan, 57, said he has been gearing up for his election run for about three years because of mismanagement, poor morale and favoritism in the department.

“I’ve been planning this for a long time,” said Jordan.

On the stump, Jordan has been campaigning on stepping up the crackdown on illegal drugs by using dogs to randomly search vehicles involved in routine traffic stops and basically make life hell for people involved in the trade.

“We’re not going to stop the (influx of) drugs, but I can guarantee we’ll put a hurt on it,” Jordan said.

Jordan agrees the county needs to replace its juvenile detention center with a new facility. He’s less supportive of a proposed work release center, which Jordan worries will stymie efforts to expand the jail because of its proposed location.

Jordan also harbors doubts that the work release center is truly necessary at this point since inmates could be housed in tents in the summer, when the jail population tends to peak.

On the campaign trail, Jordan has attracted criticism from his opponents who accuse him of allowing his patrol vehicle to get clipped by a train, outing an undercover narcotics agent at a candidate forum and nearly hitting a Sandpoint Police officer with his Tazer during a search for car thieves.

Jordan is unfazed by the criticisms, though. He said the patrol vehicle incident was a freak accident and contends the drug agent attracted attention to himself during the forum. The Tazer incident was a calculated decision to discharge the device so he could drop it and draw his firearm, he said.

“It wasn’t fired toward him,” Jordan emphasized, adding that he was 60-80 feet away from the officer when he discharged it.

Jordan said he has 25 years of experience in law enforcement, which included a stint with the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s highway patrol. He’s also worked as a skip tracer and a security guard. During his career, Jordan said he’s worked with Interpol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a host of other agencies.

“What I bring to the job is education and experience,” he said.