A longtime Adams County sheriff’s deputy and Democrat is now a Republican who wants to unseat his boss, Sheriff Doug Darr.
Mark Nicastle, 51, says he really has nothing against the Democratic Party. He just sees a party-switch as his best shot to take on and defeat Democrat Darr in the November general election.
“It’s not an anger thing with the Democrats,” Nicastle said. “But it’s my best opportunity for November.”
Nicastle said he supported Darr in his successful runs for sheriff in 2002 and 2006. He also said he let Darr know that he intended to run for sheriff after Darr was forced to leave because of term limits.
But in November, after Adams County voters narrowly passed a measure allowing Darr and other elected officials to serve a third term, Nicastle decided he had to jump sides.
“When I told them I was interested in running against Doug, they rolled their eyes and crinkled their noses,” Nicastle said of county Democratic Party leaders. “They basically told me that if they had a candidate that wasn’t doing anything embarrassing in the public eye, then why overthrow that.”
Neither Darr nor officials with the Adams County Democratic Party could be reached for comment Monday.
Nicastle — who spent nearly half his career in drug enforcement — said his entire campaign hinges on whether he gets a strong endorsement from Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 1, on Feb. 8. The lodge includes 440 members of the Sheriff’s Department, a few State Patrol officers and the Federal Heights Police Department.
Adams County Republican Party Chairman Clark Bolser said the party is happy to welcome Nicastle, a respected member of the law enforcement community.
Voters may see the November sheriff’s race as another referendum on the term-limit issue.
“This gives another opportunity for the folks in Adams County to reaffirm their commitment to term limits,” Bolser said.
Since joining the Sheriff’s Department in 1984, Nicastle has commanded the SWAT team, bomb squad and K-9 units. He’s also served as commander of the North Metro Drug Task Force and in special investigations with the county’s vice and narcotics units, drug task forces and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
He says the Sheriff’s Department needs more transparency in its administrative structure. He also wants to use inmates from the Adams County Jail for trash cleanup and to clean graffiti from neighborhoods.
“I think we can do a lot more when it comes to pro-active policing in Adams County,” Nicastle said.
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
