Popular Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson announced his retirement today, giving six weeks notice, and naming his successor, UnderSheriff David Walcher. The County Board of Commissioner's will replace the Sheriff, but if the vote goes the way most of them do, it will be a rubber-stamp. Robinson's timing and text raise many questions. The letter did not say, "I'm going to Florida to play shuffleboard" or "looking forward to spending more time with my grandchildren". Instead, it read, "Leaving office prior to the end of my third term has always been an important element of my very deliberate and well-considered succession plan".
http://www.arapahoegov.com/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1126
Robinson is hugely popular in Arapahoe County among community leaders in both parties. Readers may recall he arrested his predecessor, fellow Republican and former Sheriff Patrick Sullivan on drug charges, beefing up his image as a "non-partisan law-and-order swashbuckler". http://denver.cbslocal.com/2011/11/29/former-arapahoe-county-sheriff-arrested-on-drug-charge/
Robinson's been positioning himself as a moderate and getting media attention as an "independent thinker" for some time. Case in point: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22427943 And here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/sheriff-bills-romney-campaign_n_1283242.html Clearly, he is getting good campaign advice if he is running for something.
To those who know him, Robinson appears apolitical. He is very professional and serious as he carries out his duties as the highest ranking Official in Arapahoe County. His work with FEMA and Homeland Security, his height, and his serious demeanor can make him very intimidating, but he has a sense of humor, too (I once joked with him that firefighters exist so police officers have someone to look up to. He teased right back).
Will Sheriff Grayson Robinson cash in his substantial political capital and run for higher office? Only time will tell, but he's one to watch.
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I don't know about him, but in a general sense, this may be a sign that moderate Republicans are finally moving to take over their party from the tin foil hat brigade and remove the "T" from the GOTP.
The timing is wrong…. something is up.
Politics is never what it says it is -it's always what it feels like it is.
Robinson did a great job today handling the Arapahoe High School shooting press conferences. What a horribly sad day……
Yes he did. Sullivan before him was also an excellent Sheriff, in spite of the tragic choices in his personal life. We've been very fortunate in our Sheriffs here in Arapahoe County. And a student described how they have had drills practicing what to do in a situation like this that paid off by keeping things as calm as could be expected in the situation.
Dave Perry wrote an interesting piece about Robinson's political savvy in appointing his own replacement. http://www.aurorasentinel.com/opinion/editorial-follow-sheriff-robinsons-lead-letting-colorado-get-around-states-useless-partisan-county-election-system/