Josh Saaranen
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- Roger Sullivan
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- Josh Saaranen
HOUGHTON – This year’s Houghton County sheriff’s race pits Sheriff Joshua Saaranen against challenger Roger Sullivan.
Saaranen, running as a Republican, was appointed sheriff in 2021 after the death of longtime Sheriff Brian McLean. He had served in numerous roles with the office, most recently as detective lieutenant.
Sullivan, who has no party affiliation, works as a licensed residential builder.
The winner will serve a partial term through 2024.
Joshua Saaranen
Roger Sullivan
Saaranen said has enjoyed working with residents and local agencies such as Dial Help and Copper Country Mental Health.
“We’ve got a great group of men and women here, a great foundation that was already built for us, and we’re growing on that,” he said. “I’d like the opportunity to continue that in the future and serve as everyone’s sheriff in Houghton County.”
Saaranen said priorities include narcotics enforcement; providing security to youth, elderly and vulnerable people in the county; and collaborating with agencies such as Copper Country Mental Health to address mental health challenges in the area. He said he would also see that the department continued to be fiscally conservative.
“I worked with a budget that I didn’t create in the last year, and we came in under budget to make sure that we’re spending our money wisely and efficiently to make sure we have the services for all the people in Houghton County,” he said.
Dealing with drugs in the area has been a combination of enforcement through collaborations with the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team and rehabilitation programs to address addiction.
“It’s gratifying to see programs like the drug court here, the health department and their services that they’ve offered to get people healthy again,” Saaranen said. “And that’s the main main part of one of the main facets of drug enforcement, not just enforcement, but making sure that we’re getting the community healthy again.”
Over the past year, Saaranen has worked to add programs in the jail for inmates to prepare themselves for life after their release. That’s included adding more clergy and working with the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department to bring counselors to the jail.
“One of my main goals is to provide services within the Houghton County Jail to prepare individuals for entering drug court and the community and society, so that they get themselves better and in doing so, we save the taxpayers money by preventing recidivism, people coming back to jail and repeating that cycle,” he said.
The county is looking to replace its current 28-bed jail, built in 1963; it also has a 26-bed work camp. The board recently approved a purchase agreement for the First Apostolic Lutheran Church property on Sharon Avenue.
Prior to jail reforms introduced during COVID, the jail had several months of emergency overcrowding, with inmate populations reaching into the 40s.
“That was a tough summer,” said Saaranen, who was working as desk sergeant. “It wasn’t healthy for the inmates. We had suicide attempts. We had employees that were retiring early. It just wasn’t satisfying the need of not only our prisoners, but keeping our staff safe.”
Recent jail populations have been lower; at the September meeting, Saaranen reported 22 inmates at the jail and six at work camp. However, the county’s population growth leaves room for the inmate population to rise again.
Saaranen said he would like to see at least 50 beds at the jail for general population, not including work camp and release for males and females. With a growing number of female inmates, a new facility would ensure the county had enough space to be able to provide the same resources male inmates have.
“We don’t need a 150-bed facility, 200-bed facility,” he said. “I don’t think that’s efficient for the county or the taxpayers. I just want to make sure we have an efficient jail that’s safe for the inmates and for our employees.”
The sheriff’s department may see relief on an issue that has required a significant commitment of county resources. A new state law allows counties to contract with private companies for mental health transports. Sheriff’s deputies often have to drive downstate, incurring large costs for the county.
Although the bill states who is eligible, it doesn’t lay out who is responsible for funding, Saaranen said. The county has set up a panel to investigate privatizing the service.
“After we have that first meeting, I think it’s going to be a collaborative effort to see if that would be a sustainable program for the county,” he said.
Other needs for the department were addressed through funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, including radios for every school in the district and replacing older cars in the department’s fleet.
Saaranen continues to look at other grant opportunities for the office, such as Operation Stone Garden, a federal grant that provides overtime pay, and grants for snowmobile and ORV patrol.
The sheriff’s office is also applying for training and recruitment grants. Saaranen said the office is fully staffed, but will use the grants for training for its current employees.
“If we have a corrections officer that wants to have a career path in law enforcement, we already know who that person is,” he said. “We’re going to invest in that employee hopefully going forward and get them trained up and let them achieve their goals as well.”
Roger Sullivan
Hancock resident Roger E. Sullivan is running for Houghton County Sheriff. Sullivan has no party affiliation (NPA).
Sullivan is a native of Houghton County and has been the owner of Sullivan Contracting since 2006.
Sullivan said as an independent candidate, he is accepting no campaign contributions and has no campaign signs, to eliminate politics and money from local law enforcement. Sullivan, who ran as an independent candidate for sheriff in 2020, said he believes partisan politics should not play a part in an office as important as county sheriff.
Sullivan said as Houghton County’s next elected sheriff, he will focus on a number of issues that have come to his attention in the last decade. The focal points were addressed in his response to the Copper Country League of Women Voters question, “What are your priorities and how can you accomplish them?” Sullivan also posted his response on his social media account, listing six concerns:
“My priorities upon being elected as the next Houghton County Sheriff will be as follows:
1. Meet with the Board of Commissioners and assess/evaluate the need and plans for a new Houghton County Jail.
“I plan on meeting with the board of commissioners and evaluating and addressing the need for a new jail immediately upon taking my oath of office,” said Sullivan. “I am eager to find out why our board of commissioners is pushing this project without the consent of the voting population and without any formal statement of need from the previous long-term sheriff.”
2. Notify the district attorney (MCL 750.159x) and open up an investigation of “Criminal Enterprise/ Racketeering” of officials and bureaucrats in Houghton County based on evidence gathered over the last decade.
“Holding public officials accountable is the only way to ensure justice when justice is called upon,” Sullivan said. “Without holding public officials (judges included) accountable, we simply have a ‘just us’ system.” he said. “I am running to be your next sheriff so that I can change that into a ‘justice system.’ If you are a landowner or have children and/or a family, this is of the utmost importance in order to securing your property and liberties in Houghton County.”
Sullivan said he will open the sheriff’s office to transparency, informing the public as to the actions and involvement of the Houghton County Sheriff’s department.
“I will also ensure the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) requests are handled swiftly and properly,” he said, “so that the entirety of the public feels confident in the actions of the Sheriff’s department.”
If elected, Sullivan said he will assist those who have been denied redress in the past.
“I will open up my line of contact to all of those who have been wrongfully denied justice in the past,” he said. “If you tried to file a criminal complaint and were told ‘this isn’t a criminal matter, you need to contact an attorney,’ please contact me when I am Sheriff. I will personally make sure that we do everything within the law to help and protect you and your property.”
Sullivan’s fifth point of concern focuses on the mental health of jail inmates.
Sullivan will meet with the health department and discuss the issues and concerns involved with mental health and try to improve on that in order to reduce recidivism among inmates. Reducing repeat offenders is a major concern of his, he said. He will look for avenues to give these individuals a path back to society, whether it is achieving a G.E.D. before release, possible on-the-job training, or even cooperating with local businesses to provide skill training to rehabilitated individuals.
His sixth point, he said, is he would like to start a Sheriff’s Explorer Program for the youth in our area who may be interested in law enforcement.
“I think this would be an excellent avenue to get our deputies out into the public and raise awareness as to what the law enforcement career entails,” he said. “These programs are popular all over the nation and I would like to see one implemented here in Houghton County.”
With this being a two-year term, Sullivan said he needs to plan appropriately.
“I will focus on the major impacts (crimes with victims and crimes against the community) of law enforcement and move forward from there,” he said. “This whole process can not be accomplished by myself alone. Firstly, I need the support of the public behind this grass roots movement. Secondly, I will need the support of my undersheriff and staff. Many are aware of the recent situations involving administration/staff of the Houghton County Sheriff’s department, my plan is to remove any and all bad actors that tarnish the bright brass of law enforcement. I believe that without removing the bad fruit, the rest will eventually spoil. So, upon swearing to my oath, I will start conducting interviews of the staff and look to assemble the highest regarded staff to assist the people of Houghton County. This process will remove all of the previous glass ceilings and will make positions available to those who earn and deserve them instead of handing positions out on the merits of nepotism.”
