|
GJ Sentinel: Veteran Cop Seeks House Seat
February 4, 2006
Grand Junction Sentinel
Saturday, February 04, 2006
A Mesa County criminal investigator aims to take his law
enforcement experience to Denver.
Steve King, an investigator with the Mesa County Sheriff’s
Department since 1999, submitted paperwork with the
Colorado Secretary of State last week to run for the
Colorado Legislature, according to his campaign managers.
He seeks the House District 54 seat now held by Rep. Josh
Penry, R-Grand Junction. Penry won’t seek re-election to
the House because he’s running for the state Senate.
King’s 24 years of law enforcement experience include more
than a decade with the Grand Junction Police Department.
Upon his departure from the Police Department in 1991, he
launched American National Protective Services, which
specializes in women’s personal safety and self-defense.
He and his wife, Daun, continue to run the company.
“I know what it’s like to run a small business,” King said.
King said he doesn’t pretend to know the ins and outs of
every issue he would face as a Western Slope lawmaker, but
he’s committed to getting up to speed on whatever may come.
“Health and safety issues — that is where I have the
ability to speak from experience,” he said.
“On the other hand, there’s areas where I’ve got a learning
curve.”
No. 1 on the list of issues to study is water.
“I know that it’s important for the Western Slope to fight
for every drop of water that we have,” he said.
The December manhunt for attempted-murder suspects Samuel
Lincoln and Charles Pruitt helped cement King’s desire to
run for the House.
A reporter asked him the last time methamphetamine wasn’t
involved in a violent crime in Mesa County.
The case of Michael Blagg, who was found guilty of killing
his wife in November 2001, was the last time he could
recall.
King had two options: “Continue to go out and catch one bad
guy at a time or step up and deal with laws that allow
people to solve problems.”
That’s not to suggest the state is a cure-all when it comes
to fighting such problems as methamphetamine, he said.
Such problems are best addressed at the local level.
But, he said, “The state needs to be there to say, ‘Hey,
we’re here to help you to try and solve the problem.’ ”
King and his wife have three children.
The Rev. Dan Wilkenson, a Grand Junction Republican,
announced his bid for House District 54 in December.
|
|
|
