HAILEY, Idaho — Voters in the Wood River Valley will see a lot on the ballot this election, including a few contested state senate seats, and a fire district classification for the City of Ketchum. However, one of the biggest races on the ballot in Blaine County will decide the next sheriff.
- Morgan Ballis is going on three years as a patrol officer with the Hailey Police Department and has an extensive military background,
- Aaron Hughston has lived in the Wood River Valley for 20 years and has over 15 years of law enforcement experience.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Voters in the Wood River Valley will see a lot on the ballot this election, including a few contested state senate seats, and a fire district classification for the City of Ketchum.
However, one of the biggest races on the ballot in Blaine County will decide the next sheriff.
Two new faces are in the mix — Democratic candidate Morgan Ballis and Republican candidate Aaron Hughston.
Hughston has lived in the Wood River Valley for 20 years and has over 15 years of law enforcement experience.
"I used to work at the Blaine County Sheriff's Office under Gene Ramsey and Steve Harkins, then I moved over to Elmore County and worked for them for a while, as well as I taught at the police academy. When I was a young man, I was also involved in law enforcement as a cadet and explorer," said Aaron Hughston.
As for Ballis, he is going on three years as a patrol officer with the Hailey Police Department. He's also been a school resource officer with the Blaine County School District and has an extensive military background.
"I spent 11 years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry marine. I have multiple combat deployments overseas, infantry squad leader, infantry platoon sergeant and I've worked at the command level at both the company level and the battalion level,” said Morgan Ballis.
As for how the two candidates see the Blaine County Sheriff's office running under their leadership for the next four years?
Hughston wants to see an emphasis on proactive community policing.
"We need to open those lines of communication and do programs such as a community watch program to get the communities involved. Law enforcement officers that are part of this community need to not only patrol the communities but be active participants in the community,” said Hughston.
Ballis sees prevention as the key to combating the community's mental health crisis.
"We cannot out police suicides, we cannot out police mental health, we can't out police substance use but we have so many great organizations in our community and the sheriff plays a role in supporting those organizations. Mental health and substance use are the two largest driving factors of crime and if we really want to drive down crime, we really have to lean into prevention,” said Ballis.
Both candidates are hoping to secure enough votes to take charge of the sheriff's office for the next four years.
"I'm the only certified officer running for sheriff and I've also deeply embedded myself into the community," said Ballis.
“They also need to look at the overall experience of the candidate. Hands down, I have the other candidate beat by a lot of years," said Hughston.
