Jeff Gardner For Sheriff

10/18/2024

BLACKFOOT — Incumbent Jeff Gardner, a Republican, is running against Vaughn A. Lefevre, an Independent, for Bingham County Sheriff. This is a four-year term. Neither candidate has a campaign website. EastIdahoNews.com sent the same eight questions to each candidate. Their responses, listed below, ...

05/22/2024

Citizens of Bingham County,

I write this letter in a spirit of immense gratitude for your support. I have many people to thank, but I would first like to start off thanking my Heavenly Father for blessing me with the opportunity to live in this great free nation and to have such a meaningful career serving the public in law enforcement.

Next I’d like to thank my wonderful wife and kids for standing by my side and putting up with my aspirations to serve in this capacity. It is often them who make the sacrifice when the demands of this position come calling. That is how they serve you, and they never complain.

I’d next like to thank my other family, friends, their families and their friends, my colleagues and peers at the County, and all my community partners in Police, Fire, EMS, the schools. I’m surely missing more.

I can’t forget all of the great leaders, mentors, and co-workers in my law enforcement career thus far and those I had the pleasure of working with as a Security Police Officer at the INL. Some are still with me and many have retired. Some are no longer with us. You are all my brothers and sisters. This includes all the other Idaho Sheriff’s, especially my Tri-County Sheriff’s Association partners.

Without question, I have to thank my team. Leadership is a beautiful thing in action. I have come to realize I am only just one man. I have learned a very humbling lesson over the years, which is I need the brave men and women that serve in the Sheriff’s Office more than they need me. It is an honor to be your delegate to lead them. I pledge to do all I can to ensure they remain a cohesive team of professionals ready to serve you. They are some of the very best out there and when it comes to sharing a shoulder patch with them, the honor is all mine.

To my honorable counterpart in this election, Jim Barbre, I say thank you for remaining professional, respectful, and making me earn it. Having the chance to speak to you and your family reminds me of all the great people we have in this County. I wish you all the very best and appreciate the level of patriotism you display and the level of support you have for Law Enforcement.

To those that used their voice and their vote and didn’t select me as your candidate:
I want you to know that I understand that is a part of the process that makes this nation so great. I’ve served nearly 30 years in Law Enforcement without personal bias and I don’t plan on starting now. Though I might not have been your candidate, I want you to know that I will serve you all the same as your elected Sheriff. Politics have been far and wide in the recent past, but they have no place when it comes to the level of commitment this office has for you or the level of professionalism that you receive. Your trust will still be our mission, and it is my pleasure to serve you.

Thank You All
Sheriff Jeff Gardner

05/20/2024

I appreciate this endorsement from Jason and Kelly Moulton of the Animal Health Clinic on Rich Ln. They are amazing people and a staple of the community.

05/19/2024

“As your elected Sheriff, I am your designated leader of the Sheriff’s Office. I do MANAGE many things such as the budget, but I must LEAD the people at the Sheriff’s Office. One of the greatest satisfactions I’ve had is seeing the leadership principles that are taught and believed in take root with staff. We have cultivated a culture of leadership and we empower—even expect—leadership at every level.

Part of that empowerment is trusting leaders within to run with ideas and impressions and to make decisions. Then it is about supporting them in their efforts as long as those things fall in line with our core principles and don’t carry unnecessary risk or cost. I offer oversight, feedback, and loving resistance at times to ensure what is being proposed is best for Bingham County. The outcome of this approach is a high functioning team comprised of individuals that are motivated and bought in.

I’d like to illustrate how principles can be transferred through training and take on powerful meanings when you allow individuals to make them their own. I’ll share some thoughts below from my Chief Deputy, Jordyn Nebeker. One of my first acts as Sheriff was selecting him as Chief Deputy and if you know him, there’s no doubt why I did. Another thing I ensured early on was making sure that the core administrative team met regularly to improve communication. Jordyn, the rest of the vital members of our leadership team—and all of our staff for that matter— have really carried my vision as Sheriff in their own great ways. I appreciate and love them all dearly.

One of the most meaningful ways I can make good on your vote May 21st is to ensure that the Sheriff’s Office is a team ready to serve you. I assure you that I as your elected Sheriff will lead these great men and woman forward into the future. All the while, your trust will be our mission.”

Thank You
Sheriff Jeff Gardner

“Be a shoelace.”

Weave your way in from the bottom to the top on all sides of your stewardship.

Gently pull in an upward direction. Elevate.

Now those two theoretical sides are coming together. The sides could be:

People vs other people
People vs fear
People vs trust issues
People vs knowledge gaps
People vs training gaps
People vs themselves
This entity vs that entity
This division vs that division
This team vs that team
People vs their past
People vs lack of vision, motivation, or direction
People vs emotions
People vs mental health
People vs family and other personal problems
People vs anything
People vs everything

Gently pull upward. Elevate. Tie people to the right ideas, culture, and mindset. Tie people together. Help them realize their why, and weave that into them. Tie divisions of an organization together. Tie your organization to other organizations and community partners. Tie them to your family, and your family to them. Make them all a family. Make them at peace and in harmony with their best self.

Gently pull upward. Elevate. Tie. Unite. Bring together. Unify at all costs. That’s what a leader for the good of the whole does.

Woe unto those that use the mantel to create division, distaste, distrust, and dishonor. Those that tear apart and tear down. If you are not engaged in uniting, you are not opposed to the dividing. You condone division. You displace synergy. You are an opposition to progress.

Every moment of every day we make decisions to do and become. Everyone is a leader. Whether in your family, at work, in groups you are involved, or even just of yourself. You will either be effective, or ineffective. Your span of influence and the performance you see is a mirror that shows how the answer to that question is going. You never get it right all the time. Just remember….

Unite and Untie. Same letters, different approach, different results.

Evaluate where you’re at.
Weave.
Gently pull upward.
Elevate.
Bring together.

Be a leader, which is to say, be a shoelace.

-Jordyn Nebeker
Chief Deputy Sheriff

05/16/2024

I appreciate this letter of support from a respected peer in Madison County.

Citizens of Bingham County,

My name is Ron Ball and I am the current Sheriff of Madison County. I was appointed as Sheriff in November of 2023 after serving 31 years at the Rexburg City Police Department. After being appointed as Sheriff, one of my first calls was to your current sheriff, Jeff Gardner. I made this call because I know that Jeff has a lot of knowledge of the duties of the Sheriff and would be willing to help and give me advice. I continue to reach out to Jeff with questions that come up. The citizens of Bingham County should feel safe and well served in knowing Sheriff Gardner and his office are there serving their needs in all of the capacities that the office of the Sheriff is in charge of. I have known Jeff for most of my thirty plus years as a law enforcement officer and I believe that he holds the leadership, experience and ethical values to continue to be the face and voice of the Bingham County Sheriff's office.

I am also the Security Superintendent for the Eastern Idaho State Fair. In this capacity, I also have the opportunity to work with Jeff and his deputies and have always been impressed with the professionalism from both the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office and the Blackfoot Police Department. We have had numerous discussions on the security issues during fair time and I know he wants the fair to be as safe as possible for those that are attending the daily events.

I, also with other Sheriffs from around the area, believe in Sheriff Gardner and his abilities to maintain an office of the Sheriff that continues to amplify the ethical and moral standings which they expect from the law enforcement agency that serves them.

Please Vote Jeff Gardner for Sheriff of Bingham County!

Sheriff Ron Ball
Madison County

05/02/2024

To be successful as the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office, we want to do what we should do, not what we can do, for everyone in our community. As your Sheriff, your trust is our mission.

Vote for me, Jeff Gardner, For Bingham County Sheriff on May 21st.

04/21/2024

I ask if everyone would take a moment and say a prayer for these deputies and their families. 🙏💙

UPDATE: A suspect has been located and the scene near S. Roosevelt and W. Nez Perce St. in Boise is secure. Boise Police Department will release additional details about what occurred at the scene shortly.

On 4/20/2024 at approximately 8:55pm, an Ada County Sheriff’s
Office deputy made a traffic stop in the area of W. Overland Rd. and S. Raymond St. in Boise. At some point during the stop, the suspect in the vehicle shot the deputy. A citizen witnessed the shooting, called 911, and performed CPR. The deputy was transported to St. Alphonsus in Boise. The deputy’s condition is unknown at this time.

The suspect vehicle has been located. The suspect is still outstanding and is considered armed and dangerous. There are active searches currently underway.

While on their way to assist the downed deputy, another Ada County Sheriff’s Office deputy was involved in a two-vehicle crash with a power pole near S. Meridian Rd. and E. Amity Rd. The deputy was transported to St. Alphonsus in Boise. The deputy’s condition is unknown at this time.

We ask residents to lock their doors and call dispatch if they see anything suspicious.

We will continue to post updates as more information comes available.

EDIT: The initial post said N. Raymond St. Edited to reflect S. Raymond St.