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Steamboat Springs detective joins sheriff’s race

Nick Bosick announces intention to run for office

Zach Fridell
Nick Bosick
P1140516

— Steamboat Springs Police Department detective Nick Bosick has changed his mind. He announced Monday that he will run for Routt County sheriff, and in the process, become the third Republican candidate in the race.

Bosick said he submitted his paperwork during his lunch hour Monday. Provided Garrett Wiggins re-submits his candidacy paperwork following eligibility concerns in regards to the Hatch Act, Bosick will face Wiggins and David Smith Jr. in a primary. The winner likely will take on incumbent Gary Wall, a Democrat, in the general election.

A longtime Steamboat Springs resident, Bosick said that since he announced he would not run for sheriff, in a story published in the Steamboat Today on March 12, his phone has been constantly ringing with people urging him to reconsider.



He said he was ready to leave Steamboat to move to a larger city, possibly in Florida, where he could teach Krav Maga hand-to-hand combat full time. While in Florida pursuing the idea, Bosick said he was overwhelmed with calls and decided, with his wife, Jody, that running for sheriff was worth a shot.

Bosick was born and raised in Colorado, and his family moved to Steamboat in 1983. He started working at the Routt County Sheriff’s Office as a jail deputy in 1997, and moved to the Steamboat Springs Police Department in late 1999. He said his experience in Routt County law enforcement puts him ahead of his competitors.



“I’ve got a lot of energy, and I have some good thoughts and ideas about what needs to be done. I’m not saying that necessarily they’re doing a bad job, I just think some new ideas and leadership and mentorship go a long way,” he said. “I feel like I have enough experience and I’m more well-rounded. I’ve got more experience than I think everybody who’s running, including the current sheriff, as far as law enforcement goes.”

Even with the law enforcement experience, Bosick said there are some parts of the job he would have to learn, including working with budgets.

“There are some things that I probably have not been exposed to. I have not been exposed to operating a budget, or being, I guess, involved in developing a budget,” he said. “But I spent five years as a patrol sergeant and that was a very difficult job managing people, and I believe that I was successful while I was doing it.”

Bosick said he would announce some of his ideas for reform later, but that he has heard from residents who think the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have enough of a presence in some areas of the county.

“I’ve talked to people who live out in the county who haven’t seen a sheriff’s deputy in months and/or years, and that’s concerning to me,” he said.

He also is concerned because he does not see deputies patrolling Rabbit Ears Pass.

“It’s ridiculous for me to drive to Denver and back on a regular basis and never see a deputy on Rabbit Ears Pass. Rabbit Ears Pass is one of our most deadly mountain passes that we have in Colorado,” Bosick said. “I’m not saying the deputy should be up there writing ticket after ticket after ticket, but if you see a deputy, you slow down.”

Bosick said he has not fully researched the Hatch Act, the law that prohibits federal employees from running for office. Wiggins withdrew from the sheriff’s race last week but plans to soon re-enter it in an attempt to avoid any potential Hatch Act conflict from his office’s use of federal funds.

Bosick said he might resign his position on the Emergency Response Team because that group received some federal funding for equipment. The team is a volunteer group that responds to serious incidents, similar to a SWAT team.

When he isn’t at work, Bosick said he sometimes works as a Krav Maga teacher at Colorado Mountain College’s Alpine Campus. More often he can be found spending time with his family. Bosick and his wife have five children between 4 and 17 years old.

“I’m an active member of the Holy Name Catholic Church, I’m still involved in teaching Krav Maga through CMC, but for the most part, I’m dedicated to my family right now,” he said. “I try to give back to the community when I’m at work, and I give back to my family when I’m home.”


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