The 2020 election season has officially started in Ector County, with Sheriff Mike Griffis announcing his run for re-election to a crowd of supporters on the courthouse grounds.
His announcement was met by applause from the crowd, as the sheriff outlined some of his past accomplishments and future goals for the office.
“Historically, law enforcement for Ector County has been the lowest paid in the entire area. We are working to change that, and we are going to make this the agency where people want to come work.”
The sheriff also noted that finding solutions to address the inmate level at the county jail, which is at an all-time high, had been a daily battle during his first term in office. The county recently broke ground on a new jail expansion project, which is expected to reduce some of the costs associated with inmate transfers to other counties. However, Griffis implied issues with overcrowding is still likely to arise, given Odessa’s steady population growth.
The sheriff closed his speech by saying his goal is to make Ector County the place where people want to come raise a family and retire. “I’ll take my last breath fighting for our county,” he stated.
Griffis was serving as a deputy for the sheriff’s office when he was first elected to the position in 2016 after defeating Joe Commander, an investigator for the district attorney’s office, for the Republican nomination. Griffis has previously served in elected office as Ector County Constable in Precinct 1.
As of April 30, no other candidates have declared their intent to run for Ector County Sheriff.
