For the first time in 26 years, there will be a choice on the ballot in the race for Marion County sheriff.
Nick Hunter, who was appointed to the position in 2023, faces Stacy Rejaian, a longtime deputy with the department, in the Nov. 5 general election.
The last time there was a contested race for Marion County sheriff was in 1998, when Raul Ramirez emerged victorious in a four-way race in the primary election. Every sheriff since then has been appointed or has run unopposed.
The nonpartisan position has a four-year term.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office has 375 employees in enforcement (patrol, search and rescue, SWAT), institutions (jail), operations (administration, courthouse security, background investigations) and community corrections (parole and probation).
The department contracts for police services with cities including Aurora, Jefferson and Sublimity, and also serves unincorporated east Salem with enhanced patrols through a public safety fee.
Of Marion County’s $732 million budget for this fiscal year, $90 million goes to the Sheriff’s Office.
Who is Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter?
Hunter, 47, lives in Sublimity. That city doesn’t have a police department, but contracts for police services with Marion County. He said he is one of many officers from multiple agencies like Oregon State Police and Salem Police Department who live in the city.
“You could almost call it cop town,” Hunter said.
Hunter has been married to wife Samantha since 2022 and has two children.
He grew up in Lake Oswegoand was best known as a baseball player in his time at Lakeridge High School. He went to college at Willamette University and initially focused on pre-med classes, intending to follow his father into medicine. But after struggling in organic chemistry, he changed his major to psychology.
While working at Gold’s Gym in Salem, he met Salem Police officer Mike Baskett and went on a ride-along. That’s when he decided he wanted to be an officer.
After graduating from Willamette, Hunter became a reserve officer with Marion County and took a job in the Marion County Jail as a facilities security aide. He also became a temporary deputy with Marion County.
“Then I ended up getting hired full time by the city of Independence Police Department,” in 2004, Hunter said.
He returned to Marion County as a deputy after four years in 2008. He was promoted to sergeant in 2012 and lieutenant in 2015. He said in his time with Marion County he was a commander in the SWAT unit. He also trained officers in use of force.
When Sheriff Joe Kast announced his pending retirement in 2023, Hunter was selected by county commissioners to succeed him.
“And so that’s why I wanted to continue that leadership because it was something that was naturally occurring there,” Hunter said.
Who is Stacy Rejaian?
Rejaian, 42, grew up in Salem and graduated from Sprague High School in 2000, where she played music.
She went to University of North Carolina Greensboro to study music, but changed her major to political science.
When she returned to Oregon, her first job was as a legislative assistant for state Rep. Susan Morgan. Like other legislative assistants, she had free time on her hands and decided to volunteer as a reserve deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
As a reserve, she eventually was volunteering more than 100 hours per month.
“I remember one of the sergeants said, ‘You’re practically volunteering full time. You should apply, we’ll pay you,’” she said.
Rejaian was hired as a full-time deputy in 2007 and has been with the department since. She works the graveyard shifts on weekends. She also has been a negotiator for the SWAT team.
She graduated with a Master of Business Administration from George Fox University in 2007. Rejaian also works as a Realtor, something she’s done for 12 years with her brokerage firm, Olympic Realty.
“Sometimes it’s more part-time. Sometimes it’s pushing on full time,” she said.
Rejaian was one of six people who applied to be appointed sheriff after Kast announced his retirement in 2023.
She lives south of Salem in unincorporated Marion County with husband Bejan and two children.
What issues are the candidates for Marion County sheriff focused on?
Hunter said his three priorities if he wins the election are addressing violence, the addiction crisis and theft.
Rejaian said her biggest priority as sheriff would be to recruit and retain sheriff’s deputies to address staffing issues the department is facing.
“I think our deputy staffing is at critically low levels in the jail and enforcement on patrol,” she said. “It’s not uncommon to have a team that’s down to having four or five people working, which is not very many when you have almost 1,200 miles of Marion County to cover.”
The county has hired a marketing firm to recruit new deputies, and Hunter said he expects the marketing efforts to launch soon.
Under Hunter’s leadership, the county closed its Transition Center in August. The Transition Center managed programs like work release, people who were sentenced by courts and probation and parole violators.
He said the jail had been short staffed despite receiving more funds to open an additional pod two years ago and the transition center was underutilized by using 30 to 50 of its 144 beds each day.
The closing of the transition center allowed the jail to open 55 beds, Hunter said.
“Those violent offenders that are in the jail … when one was arrested and was able to come in, that means the least-worst would have to be let out,” Hunter said. “We can keep more of those folks who need to be in jail in jail.”
Hunter said the department plans to reimagine the Transition Center as a stabilization center to take people of different custody levels, including low-risk offenders and pretrial detainees. He said that will help the county address drug addiction in conjunction with the recent law that recriminalized drug possession.
“It’s like you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul,” Rejaian said. “Saying you moved the 50 beds. It’s really not a net gain because if you were able to maintain that additional staffing we would have the 50 beds and the additional beds.”
Hunter said part of his strategy for addressing theft is targeting those who traffic in stolen goods.
“Theft is really, for a lot of folks, it’s a nuisance crime,” Hunter said. “The addiction crisis goes hand in hand with what is going on.”
Other issues Hunter wants to address are transparency and communication, visibility and community collaboration.
Rejaian believes having county commissioners appoint new sheriffs over the past few decades has taken away people's voice in choosing their sheriff.
The past two sheriffs have been appointed and then faced no opposition in the following elections.
“When we do this, it takes the voice away for people,” she said. “It’s not intended to hand-select your successor.”
Rejaian also wants to address crime prevention by reestablishing the directed patrol unit, which focuses on enforcement in areas where crime is highest, and expand the county’s assisted diversion program to combat drug problems and gang violence.
How much money have the candidates for Marion County sheriff raised?
According to state records, Hunter’s campaign has raised $40,243, has spent $15,649 and had $27,112 on hand as of Oct. 9.
Hunter’s campaign has received $10,000 contributions from Allied Rock and K&E Excavating. It also has received contributions from state Rep. Kevin Mannix, R-Salem, Keizer city Councilor Kyle Juran, Marion County Commissioner Colm Willis and state Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton.
Rejaian’s campaign has raised $7,195 and spent $973. It had $6,221 on hand.
Her biggest contribution was $5,000 from Athena Winkler.
Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him atbpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com
