With ballot’s due next week for Colorado’s June primary elections, here’s a list of contested local primaries in the Denver metro area voters should keep an eye on. 

Adams County Sheriff

Incumbent Adams County Sheriff Richard Reigenborn, who is a Democrat, is running for reelection and has one challenger within his own party – Gene Glaps.

On the Republican side, the candidates are Donald Dediemar, Michael McIntosh and Mike Shipley.

Claps has worked in the Adams County Sheriff’s Department for 22 years and is currently Division Chief of the county’s jail. His priorities include restoring community partnerships and relationships; direct, proactive enforcement of high crime areas; being responsive to citizens’ needs; cross-agency collaboration; resourcefulness with budgeting; and, community policing.

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McIntosh formerly served as Adams County Sheriff, and his campaign website says he’s running because “it’s extremely difficult to watch people and an organization you love be torn apart.” He said he could no longer sit on the sidelines. His “Bring Mac Back” campaign priorities include restoring leadership, transparency and character in the sheriff’s department.

Reigenborn, who has served as sheriff since 2019, highlighted accomplishments, including the relocation of the department to the county’s government center, a new DNA lab, hiring new staff, and restructuring the patrol division. If reelected, he’ll continue to prioritize community involvement while keeping safety, service and efficiency as the department’s core focus, according to his campaign website.

Boulder County Commissioner

Current Boulder County Distrct 3 Commissioner Matt Jones is not running again, and two Democrats are seeking to take his seat: Elaina Shivley and Ashley Stolzmann.

According to Shively’s campaign website, she’s born and raised in Boulder County. She currently works for the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, where she oversees diversion and restorative justice programs. Her priorities include community safety and justice reform, disaster preparedness and recovery, and environmental protection and climate action.

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Stolzmann is currently the mayor of Louisville, and her campaign website says, with a decade of experience as an elected official, she’s committed to serving Boulder County “in a way that protects the environment and allows every person the opportunity to thrive.” Her priorities include disaster response and preparedness, transportation, housing and homelessness prevention and support, as well as taking bold climate action to protect the environment.

Boulder County Sheriff

Boulder County’s incumbent Sheriff Joe Pelle has been in office since 2003 and isn’t running for reelection. Two Democrats are running to replace him: David Hayes and Curtis Johnson.

Hayes is the current chief of police in Louisville, where he and his family settled. According to his campaign website, Hayes, who was born and raised in Denver, graduated from a joint Boulder Police/Boulder Sheriff’s academy in April 1978 and has worked with BPD and Louisville’s ever since. If elected, he hopes to establish a “Mission, Essence and Values Based Management System” like he’s done in Louisville, maintain fiscal responsibility of the sheriff’s department and improve equity, diversity and inclusion, his campaign says. 

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Johnson has 28 years of experience within the Boulder Police and Sheriff’s Department, currently serving as a division chief under Pelle’s leadership. His priorities include keeping the county safe; hiring and retaining “the right people;” addressing mental illness in the criminal justice system; expanding community engagement and building trust; equity, diversity and inclusion; restorative justice; and, disaster response.

Jefferson County Sheriff

Jefferson County Sheriff Jeff Shrader isn’t seeking reelection, and two Republicans are running against Democrat Regina Marinelli and Independent John Berry for his role: Ed Brady and Juliet Moores.

Brady is currently Arvada’s Deputy Chief of Police and has been with the department since 1994. His priorities include being tough on crime to reduce “the crime tsunami” affecting the county and the rest of the state, improving safety in schools and standing for freedom for his constituents to have “a safe place to live, work, worship and play.”