Mesa County Sheriff Todd Rowell took the oath this week as the new president of the County Sheriffs of Colorado (CSOC), the powerful statewide group that speaks for all 62 elected sheriffs. The quiet ceremony marks a big moment for western Colorado: for the first time in years, a sheriff from west of the Continental Divide will lead the organization during what many call the worst rural-urban divide in state history.
Rowell stood before fellow sheriffs in Grand Junction and promised to carry rural voices straight to the Capitol steps. “Sometimes the Western Slope feels like it’s shouting into the wind,” he told the room. His new role instantly makes Mesa County’s sheriff one of the loudest voices in Colorado law-enforcement policy.
A Sheriff Who Knows the Rural Struggle
Rowell is no stranger to tough fights. First elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, he has built a reputation for plain talk and fierce protection of Second Amendment rights. In 2019 he joined dozens of Colorado sheriffs who publicly refused to enforce the state’s new red-flag law if they believed it violated constitutional rights. That stand made national headlines and cemented his credibility with rural voters who feel Denver lawmakers no longer understand them.
Now he steps into the CSOC presidency at a time when sheriffs across the state are exhausted. Years of pandemic staffing shortages, rising fentanyl deaths, and a growing backlog of state prisoners stuck in county jails have pushed many departments to the breaking point.
The Backlog That’s Breaking County Budgets
Right now, about 10 percent of the inmates inside the Mesa County Detention Center should already be in state prison. Instead, they wait, sometimes for months, because the Colorado Department of Corrections has no room. Mesa County taxpayers pick up the tab.
Statewide, sheriffs report more than 1,200 DOC inmates are currently housed in county jails. The reimbursement rate from the state is $73.32 per day per inmate, far less than the actual cost of $120 to $150 per day. That gap forces sheriffs to cut road patrols, delay vehicle maintenance, or raise property taxes.
Rowell has made fixing the backlog his top priority. “When someone is sentenced to state prison, the state should take them,” he said. “Mesa County families shouldn’t have to foot the bill for Denver’s overcrowding problem.”
One Voice for Law Enforcement
Rowell also wants closer ties with the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, the group that represents municipal police departments. In the past, sheriffs and city police have sometimes worked at cross purposes on legislation. Rowell believes united fronts win battles.
“We agree on 90 percent of the issues,” he said. “Public safety, officer retention, mental-health response, fentanyl. If we speak with one voice on those things, lawmakers have to listen.”
Eyes Stay on Mesa County
Extra trips to Denver and late-night Zoom calls come with the CSOC presidency, but Rowell insists nothing will pull him away from the job voters elected him to do. “My phone still works 24/7 for Mesa County citizens,” he promised. “If you call my cell at two in the morning because your neighbor’s house is on fire or your kid didn’t come home, I’m still the sheriff who answers.”
Western Slope leaders celebrated the news. “Having Sheriff Rowell at the table changes everything,” said Grand Junction City Council member Randall Reitz. “For once, someone who actually lives here will be making the case in Denver.”
Rowell’s one-year term officially began this week. He is the first Mesa County sheriff ever to lead the County Sheriffs of Colorado.
