Former Fremont County Undersheriff Ty Martin will dust off his gun and badge and come out of retirement to serve as the county’s interim sheriff.
Martin was appointed to the office during Tuesday’s Fremont County Board of Commissioners meeting, replacing Jim Beicker whose term was set to expire in January. Beicker decided to step down early in order to have some downtime and be with his wife.
Martin and Beicker both received a standing ovation from a packed board room during Tuesday’s meeting. Beicker was presented with a proclamation by the commissioners, recognizing him for his more than 30 years of law enforcement service in Fremont County, nearly 16 of those years as sheriff.
The proclamation recognizes Beicker for “demonstrating integrity, respect, courage, compassion, fairness and honor in all things, and in all situations.”
Beicker first took office in January 2003 and has held the office longer than any other sheriff since Fremont County’s first one was appointed in 1861.
“No one person is successful by himself,” he said. “Any success that I may have had during this time is the result of a lot of people, especially the staff — thank you for serving so well.”
He also thanked County Attorney Brenda Jackson for her work throughout the years, Undersheriff Megan Richards for her assistance and the boards of commissioners with whom he has worked, including the first one consisting of Jim Schauer, Keith McNew and Larry Lasha.
“Thank you seems so inadequate,” Beicker said. “I will say that when I head back to the hills this afternoon, I will be a lot more relaxed knowing that such a trusted, valued friend and colleague will bring this term to an end.”
Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor and Custer County Undersheriff Chris Barr attended Tuesday’s meeting to show their support for their longtime colleague and friend.
Barr said he and Custer County Sheriff Shannon Byerly have worked closely with Fremont County.
“It has been an honor to work with Jim Beicker,” he said. “He has very high integrity and is an outstanding law enforcement official. We are sad to see him go, but we wish him the very best; he’s a great man.”
Taylor also has worked closely with Beicker, especially on statewide legislative matters.
“He’s a wonderful man, and I think he’s been a great sheriff,” Taylor said. “He will be sorely missed by not only the people of Fremont County, but the entire group of sheriffs throughout the state. He’s been a leader within the County Sheriffs of Colorado on policy matters that affected all of us. His wisdom and guidance will be missed. Ty Martin is a good choice. Absolutely a good choice.”
Martin, who started with the department in March 1997, retired in April after suspending his campaign for sheriff in January when he learned he was in violation of the federal Hatch Act, which prohibits employees of local agencies that receive federal funding to participate in campaign activities while on the job. The violation, he said, happened after he distributed campaign materials that featured a photo of him in his sheriff’s office uniform.
Martin said Tuesday the decision to throw his hat in the ring for interim sheriff was not an easy one.
“It was a very difficult decision for me because retirement is as good as you think it is going to be,” he said. “It really came down to it’s a short amount of time, there’s nobody who is going to come in without a huge learning curve as easily as I could. I made the decision to come back into public service again and assist the transition into the next elected sheriff.”
He said he has been out of town most of the five months that he has been retired, so his first goal simply is to get back into the office and get a handle on what’s going on there.
Martin will serve in the office until a new sheriff is duly elected and sworn in Jan. 8, 2019.
Commission Chair Tim Payne said the board received several good applicants, but because the candidates were considered “job applicants,” the names of those applying were confidential.
He said Tuesday that Martin was selected largely based on the board’s prior working relationship with him and his “outstanding work ethic.”
“He understands the budget and the budget process, and we are confident he will work well with County Manager Sunny Bryant on the 2019 budget,” Payne said.
Commissioner Debbie Bell said a couple of the current candidates for sheriff who will be on the November ballot also submitted letters of interest for the position but were not interviewed because the board wanted the people to decide who the next sheriff is going to be.
“We didn’t want to be seen in any way, shape or form as trying to influence that election,” she said. “It had nothing to do with their qualifications, but it had everything to do with the fact that they are already on the ballot in November.”
Carie Canterbury: 719-276-7643, canterburyc@canoncitydailyrecord.com
