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Mark Garton leads 2-1 in Polk County sheriff’s race
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Mark Garton leads 2-1 in Polk County sheriff’s race

Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton held his position with a 2-1 lead over challenger Steve Warden in Tuesday’s primary election results.

Garton, who lives in Dallas, was appointed sheriff in 2015. He won election in 2016 and ran unopposed in 2020.

The Polk County Sheriff’s department has a $17 million budget and 71 employees, including 24 patrol deputies and 32 jail deputies.

Garton was a student with the Polk County Sheriff’s department and was hired by the department after graduating from Chemeketa Community College in 2003. He was promoted to detective in 2008 and to sergeant in 2009.

The warden lives in unincorporated Polk County, south of Sheridan, and was a full-time deputy for the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office from 1984 until his retirement in 2011. Since then, he has worked part-time as a lieutenant overseeing the communications system. In 2016, he began working for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. He has served as the emergency services chief since 2020 and has led the fire department since its inception in 2022.

Garton’s campaign raised $6,660 this year and spent $5,916. The principal did not report any campaign fundraising.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at: [email protected]