In the final months of his career as sheriff of Teller County, Kevin Dougherty is under fire and facing the possible loss of his job.

One complaint against Dougherty deals with whether he is an inhabitant of the county. Dougherty bought a house east of Colorado Springs in June, but rents a room near Divide, a move that the Teller County Board of County Commissioners said disqualifies him as an inhabitant of the county.

Because the definition of inhabitant as opposed to resident is unclear in the state statute, the commissioners on Aug. 3 asked a judge to rule whether Dougherty is still qualified to serve as sheriff.  If he isn’t, the sheriff, who is prevented from running again by term limits, will lose his job five months early. In that case, the commissioners will pick a replacement until a new sheriff elected in November takes office in January.

Dougherty also is facing a conflict-of-interest complaint involving his soliciting a bid for courthouse security cameras from a company that he may go to work for as an instructor.Dougherty is accused of asking Colorado Springs-based Peak Performance Consulting to submit a bid to install security cameras in the county courthouse and then recommending it be accepted by the county employees making the selections, said Sheryl Decker, the Teller County administrator.

Dougherty and the security firm’s owner, Scott Southard, denied there was any impropriety in the sheriff recommending which bid to accept because he is not employed by Peak Performance.

Dougherty said he’s the victim of election-year politics, stemming from his support for sheriff’s candidate Mike Ensminger, who won in Tuesday’s Republican primary. The allegations, he claimed, come from supporters of Ensminger’s opponent, Mark Manriquez.

Teller County Commissioner Robert Campbell said the board received complaints from many residents about Dougherty’s move out of the county. Some came from Manriquez supporters, but many others came from people who had nothing to do with either campaign, he said.

Regardless of who made the complaints, Dougherty said he’s qualified to serve out his term as sheriff because he receives mail, is a registered voter and leases a room in Teller County.  He didn’t specify how much time he spends at the residence near Divide, but neighbors near his El Paso County home said they see Dougherty and his wife almost every day.  

Chip Taylor, the executive director of Colorado Counties Inc., said a ruling would probably be based on whether the sheriff’s primary residence corresponds to his mailing address on official documents and voter registration.  

On the alleged conflict of interest, Dougherty said it is not unusual for deputies and sheriffs to pursue work with private companies, adding he expected criticism when Peak Performance got the courthouse security contract.

“I knew the minute I put my name on (their website), I knew I would get some flak,” he said.Manriquez denied that he or his supporters were behind the complaints.

“My campaign is focused (on) getting into office, but also doing things appropriate to stop the conduct and behavior of past administrations that have operated this way,” Manriquez said. “I am and I will hold (Dougherty) accountable in terms of his administration.”

As a public official, Dougherty is entitled to an attorney at taxpayer expense when the hearing is held on the claim he’s not eligible to be Teller County sheriff. However, because the hearing was necessitated by Dougherty’s private actions, the sheriff and the commissioners reached a deal Monday in which the county will pay for only a minor portion of the attorney’s fees for Dougherty’s defense, Campbell said.

The issue rankled some who voiced objections at the Aug. 3 commissioners’ meeting to the county picking up the cost of Dougherty’s defense.

Raiders running back Justin Fargas signed Wednesday with the Broncos, hoping to return to his 2007 form, when he rushed for 1,009 yards and four touchdowns. Fargas totaled 3,369 yards rushing in seven seasons with Oakland. Photo by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Keith Srakocic