Garrett Wiggins recall, Routt County, Colorado (2020)

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2020 Garrett Wiggins recall, Routt County
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
Table of contents
Recall supporters Recall opponents Path to the ballot
See also
External links Footnotes

An effort to recall Garrett Wiggins from his position as sheriff of Routt County, Colorado, did not go to a vote in 2020. Recall supporters needed to collect 3,299 petition signatures by November 4, 2020, to get the recall on the ballot. They did not submit any signatures by the deadline.

The recall effort was started by Routt County citizens who did not agree with a statement the sheriff made on Facebook in June 2020 in response to protests following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died on May 25, 2020, after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. In the statement, Wiggins said the nationwide protests had nothing to do with race and were "totally political, fueled by extreme ideology and haters of America."

After he received criticism for the Facebook post, Wiggins published a letter to the editor in the Steamboat Pilot & Today in which he said, "I realize my comment about the current situation having ​nothing ​to do with race was not only inaccurate, but not at all in line with my own beliefs and was written out of haste and emotion."

Wiggins was re-elected to his third four-year term as sheriff in November 2018.

Recall supporters

Recall supporters outlined the following reasons for recall on their website:

"

Garrett Wiggins’ tenure as Routt County Sheriff has been marred by controversy and bad relations with the community. There have been multiple formal complaints filed against him for his mishandling of cases, and he was party to a widely publicized two-year lawsuit over alleged violations of a coworker’s privacy. Recently he has taken public stances on issues ranging from gun control—going as far as publicly suing the state—to freedom of speech, and claiming that peaceful protesters against police violence hate America. These views and comments are not representative of Routt County. We believe Garret Wiggins to be unfit for the office of Routt County Sheriff because of the comments he has made. On June 9, 2020 Sheriff Wiggins wrote that the protests against police brutality and racial injustice are “totally political, fueled by extreme ideology, and haters of America.” These comments were made less than a week after more than 300 people peacefully protested in Steamboat Springs and can be taken as nothing other than a direct criticism of his constituents. Peacefully protesting does not mean you hate America, it means you love it. Routt County deserves a Sheriff who will protect our constitutional rights, not attack them. He then said that he had seen “vile hatred coming from both sides…” We do not believe that someone who thinks slavery, Jim Crow, and lynchings have affected White Americans as equally as Black Americans should be the leader of a police force in a county that has had a large historical KKK presence. He also said, “If there’s factual information that supports that there is racial profiling or something that is actually occurring, absolutely then there should be some action taken.” We feel this sums up his lack of effort to reform or look at the county around him, and that such willful ignorance of the racial injustice in our country makes him unfit to police a city with nearly 13% people of color. In a letter to the editor of the Steamboat Pilot after his remarks, Wiggins stated he wrote his comments out of “haste and emotion.” We feel that a Sheriff must always be able to maintain control over his emotions and never act out of haste. Anyone who does is ill-suited to hold the office of County Sheriff. For the reasons above, and the fact that to this day he has not apologized for his divisive language, we—his own constituents—feel Sheriff Garrett Wiggins should be recalled from office.

”

Recall opponents

In response to the criticism of his Facebook post, Wiggins published the following letter to the editor in the Steamboat Pilot & Today:

"	I would like to address the post I wrote last week on Facebook, which I know has been upsetting to some. In hearing and reading some of the comments and concerns, I realize my comment about the current situation having ​nothing ​to do with race was not only inaccurate, but not at all in line with my own beliefs and was written out of haste and emotion. I want to make it clear that I stand for justice, respect, peace and equality for all. I stand in support of people of all races and ethnicities. I stalwartly stand in support of the law enforcement community and the wellbeing of our community. I completely support, both in my personal and my professional life, all peaceful movements that desire to bring a unified peace for all mankind. In my roles as as the Sheriff of Routt County and the President of the County Sheriffs of Colorado, I teamed up with other law enforcement organizations throughout Colorado in the wake of George Floyd’s tragic death, along with our state legislators, to develop laws requiring the law enforcement profession with accountability and transparency — so that officers are held accountable to intervene when there is abuse of power and not idly sit back and watch. What drove me to speak out last week were those protests that quickly turned into violence and riots around the country that led to senseless and tragic deaths, and I do not support these activities. The unconscionable murdering of police officers and innocent civilians regardless of race, destroying businesses and homes is unacceptable and should never be tolerated. Unfortunately, racism is a real part of our history that has had long lasting and negative effects on society. What I want you to know is that I am dedicated to bringing unity to all ethnicities and seeing a time when we all see each other as people without any reference to the color of someone’s skin. I do encourage peaceful protests and particularly now, at a time when we should be coming together for the common good of all. I also understand that my choice of words intended to address the violence and riots was interpreted differently by some people and had the exact opposite effect. My hope, going forward, is that we can all be mindful of our biased beliefs, stop verbally attacking others because we disagree and work together to solve our problems. Meanwhile, I will continue working to make Routt County and our citizen’s safety a top priority.	”
—Routt County Sheriff Garrett Wiggins (June 15, 2020)

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado

The recall petition was approved for circulation by the Routt County Clerk in September 2020. To get the recall on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect 3,299 petition signatures by November 4, 2020. The number of signatures needed was equal to "25% of the total number of ballots submitted in the last election for that office," according to the Steamboat Pilot & Today.

See also

• Routt County, Colorado
• Recall campaigns in Colorado
• Political recall efforts, 2020
• County official recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Routt County Sheriff's Office
• Routt County Elections Office
• Recall Sheriff Wiggins website
• Recall Sheriff Wiggins Facebook page