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Vail Daily letter: Hoy for sheriff

Ellen A. Tobey
letters@vaildaily.com
Vail, CO Colorado

Voters must carefully consider the substantive difference between Joe Hoy and James Van Beek in Eagle County’s upcoming election before casting their vote.

Mr. Van Beek has received some excellent endorsements testifying to his international peace keeping expertise. Van Beek has done a good job gathering testimonials from those who worked with him overseas, and met him on occasion.

How much experience has he had working with county governments, county budgets, and the many population and community issues that Eagle County requires of its sheriff? Van Beek will be bound by the challenges of a budget mandated by county legislators, and it will require a special gift of dedicated community service and depth of understanding on how to run an operation as complex as the Sheriff’s Department on ever-shrinking funds.



Sheriff Hoy has executed our laws with passion and with justice for many years. Joe Hoy spent the early years of his career in Eagle County law enforcement lobbying for harsher penalties for drug and alcohol abuse. Hoy initiated and executed our highly successful DARE program in Eagle County. Remember the vehicle Joe used to drive around with “DARE” inscribed on the tailgate, and remember all the visits he made to our schools and community organizations teaching prevention and awareness of penalties? Sheriff Hoy built on this successful program of education and awareness when he was elected to office eight years ago. He has been here for more than 20 years, and has seen a wide scope of change in our area.

Hoy has been deeply involved ensuring Eagle County remains safe, with justice for all as a key personal priority. Those of us who have known Joe these many years know of his integrity and his commitment to growing the professionalism of the Sheriff’s Department.

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Sheriff Hoy’s record proves he embraces innovative approaches to problem-solving and welcomes input and involvement for solutions that bring value to taxpayers and to the department. Will Mr. Van Beek be as able to do the same?

Mr. Van Beek’s endorsements do not demonstrate he has the the qualifications for overseeing a multimillion-dollar budget, especially in this economic environment.

Fiscal conservatives, such as Sheriff Hoy (and me) know that managing a budget mandated by lawmakers requires depth of knowledge, experience, analytical perspectives, and a keen eye on consequences of each decision. Sheriff department employees and citizens are impacted with each choice, each decision. Will Mr. Van Beek be able to understand the inner workings of our county and state governments, and the complexities of our county’s diverse population? I, for one, don’t want to take that risk.

As a native Coloradoan, and a former long time resident of Eagle County, Sheriff Hoy is clearly the best choice for sheriff in 2010.


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