Curry to step down at end of year

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry will not seek a third term.

Curry was elected to the position in 2010 as a Republican and has worked with the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office for over three decades. He told the Daily Inter Lake on Tuesday there was “no particular reason” for his decision to step down at the end of the year, and added that he plans to remain in the Flathead Valley and the emergency-response sector.

Curry served as ALERT’s chief flight paramedic prior to becoming sheriff. He was the undersheriff during Jim Dupont’s tenure as sheriff.

The race to replace Curry is growing crowded. As the Daily Inter Lake reported last week, four Republicans — former county undersheriff Jordan White and former Sheriff’s Office employee Calvin Beringer, as well as current Flathead County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Commander Brian Heino, and Keith Stahlberg, a sergeant with the Flathead Sheriff’s Office — have all announced their candidacy for the job.

Curry described them as “a good crop of candidates, [and] a good cross-section” for voters to choose from. He said he was unsure whether he would endorse a candidate, but aims to keep politics out of the office during his final year.

Asked about his legacy, Curry said he hoped “that I’ve been head of an agency that can provide the best public service given the limits” it faces. He predicted that the need for a new jail in Flathead County would “continue to loom” for his successor.