Race for sheriff heats up

Since the Sept. 20 vote to replace Sheriff Dever’s name on the Nov. 6 general election ballot, five men have entered the race as write-in candidates.

The first of the five to do so was Benjamin Mostyn.

Mostyn, 33, has lived in Cochise County for three years. He is currently a Master Instructor for Fort Huachuca and specializes in political science, homeland security and army intelligence. Mostyn served four years in the Army before retiring as a sergeant in 2001.

“Joining the army was my first stepping stone in working with conjunction with law enforcement,” Mostyn said.

Carl Dalton entered the race on Sept. 25. Dalton, 49, has been in Cochise County since 1972. He began working for the Arizona Department of Corrections in 1972; retiring in 2010.

“I wanted to give the voters a choice…” Dalton said. “I would work for the voters to provide security, to protect our borders, and to combat drug trafficking.”

According to the Sierra Vista Herald, James Alexander worked as an intelligence analyst in the Army, served 20 years before retiring. He is also the owner of Hot Tans Plus in Sierra Vista.

Frank Holm, 60, has been a resident of Cochise County for 15 years.

He became a Border Patrol agent for the U.S. Border Patrol in 1985 then later became a senior special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in 2003. Holm retired from ICE in 2009.

“I thought I could give back to the county and do a good job if I can” said Holm when asked why he decided to run for sheriff. “I’ll try to do a better job than the other ones (running for sheriff).”

Chief Deputy of the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, Rod Rothrock announced his candancy on Sept. 27.

Rothrock has over 40 years in law enforcement beginning when he was in high school in 1972 as a police cadet with the City of El Cajon, CA.

He went on to be a Reserve Police Officer for the City of La Mesa, CA.

In 1976 Rothrock enlisted in the Army as a Military Policeman and was stationed at Ft. Huachuca in 1977.

Rothrock became a Police Officer for the Douglas Police Department, in 1979, achieving the rank of sergeant in 1981.

Later in 1981 he joined the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office. Rothrock served as a deputy in Hereford, and then was assigned to Sierra Vista, where he was promoted to patrol sergeant in 1983.

Rothrock was assigned as detective sergeant in 1987 and spent the next seven years investigating major crimes such as homicide.

He became a member of the Sheriff’s Special Response Team, in 1983. Handling both SWAT and Search and Rescue functions, working closely with Larry Dever during this time.

In 1994 Rothrock was promoted to Commander, he became Chief Deputy for CCSO in 2008.

“In May 2008 Larry handpicked me to serve as his Chief Deputy overseeing all functions and operations of the Sheriff’s Office,” Rothrock said. “Sheriff Dever and I have worked closely together through the years. One reason that our partnership was so successful was because Sheriff Dever and I shared many of the same philosophies on how a law enforcement agency should be run; with principled and ethical leadership.”