Denver Undersheriff Fred Oliva, whose primary responsibility is running Denver’s jails, is retiring next month, leaving Mayor John Hickenlooper with a critical post to fill.
Oliva is leaving the sheriff’s office Feb. 28, capping a 39-year career.
He is leaving as the city is struggling to reduce jail overcrowding and as it begins planning construction of a $378 million justice center.
Oliva said he took pride that voters last year approved financing for the center.
“It’s been a great run,” he said. “I’ve really enjoyed myself. I’m glad we got the justice center passed. I’ve been trying to get it passed since 1992.”
He said he wants to retire to spend more time with his wife, who recently retired as well.
Hickenlooper, who will appoint Oliva’s replacement, praised him for helping persuade voters to approve the justice center.
“We need to build on the skills that he brought to the table,” the mayor said. “We’ll also need someone technologically competent and someone who is savvy with data, someone who is comfortable with taking complex sets of data and mining that.”
Lindy Eichenbaum Lent, the mayor’s spokeswoman, said the mayor has asked the Career Service Authority to advertise the job – which pays Oliva $119,424 a year – nationally.
She said the mayor will convene a group that will forward finalists to him.
He will make his selection after interviewing the finalists.
Already, the command staff at the sheriff’s office is pushing for Bill Lovingier, a 28-year sheriff’s veteran, as Oliva’s replacement.
On Tuesday, 11 managers in the sheriff’s office forwarded a letter to Hickenlooper stating they supported Lovingier, a division chief who is overseeing implementation of a $1.75 million records-management computer system for the jail.
Lovingier said he wants the post but has not formally talked to the mayor.
When Oliva arrived at the sheriff’s office in 1967, he said, the office had 173 deputies. Now, the office has close to 800.
“The department has grown considerably,” Oliva said. “And our responsibilities have grown too. We’ve had to be creative and stay within the confines of our facility because we have nowhere else to go.”
The past year was a challenging one for the sheriff’s office. Overcrowding at the city’s jails forced Oliva to erect a tent to house inmates.
Lovingier on Thursday said the city’s jails had more than 2,400 inmates in facilities designed for 1,672.
When the justice center opens in 2009, the city will have space for 2,500 inmates.
Plans also allow for an expansion that could create room for 384 more.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-820-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
