Candidates intend to fix the county jail’s finances, overcrowding and poor public image as part of the Lake County Indiana Sheriff’s Race.
Six Democrats and one Republican, the candidates in the race for Lake County Sheriff had lacked name recognition when the ballots for the primaries were set in February, a crucial moment leading to the Lake County Indiana Sheriff’s Race.
But by now, those neighborhood meetings, radio and television commercials, billboards, and yard signs have helped fill in the gaps about the candidates and how they intend to repair the county jail’s finances,
This election season, the focus on issues surrounding the jail has intensified due to the Lake County Indiana Sheriff’s Race.
overcrowding and poor public image.
What the candidates may have lacked in name recognition, they make up for it with experience.
Three of the Democratic Party candidates are current and long-time sheriff department employees. The office is open for a new sheriff as current county sheriff Oscar Martinez is term limited.
Edward Jenkins
Jenkins is Deputy Chief of Police of the Lake County Sheriff’s Dept., 2nd in command to Chief of Police Vincent Balbo, managing a $60 million annual
budget and 200-plus officers and staff.
The 30-year law enforcement veteran lives in Crown Point. If elected, he plans to start some new programs.
“Our jail is in a tragic state right now. One of the things I would like to be part of is the new Vivitrol program. This is for those with fentanyl and opioid addictions to get them back into society,” Jenkins said.
Vivitrol programs in Indiana have been implemented in several counties and state correctional facilities to reduce incarceration rates and recidivism
by treating opioid and alcohol addiction in inmates, particularly through the use of monthly naltrexone injections alongside counseling.The monthly injection blocks opioid receptors and reduces cravings, preventing the user from getting high.
“The jail is budgeted for 220 correctional officers; it sits at 150. We need to find a way to get our youth interested in law enforcement. I will start an explorer program for ages 16-19,” Jenkins said. “Let them work around the sheriff’s department and maybe they will say law enforcement is something I want to do.”
Double shifts are common at the jail. Jenkins recalled the time when 400-500 turned up when the department was hiring. “Now, we get about 60,” he said.
Maria Garcia-Trajkovich
Garcia-Trajkovich, a 27-year county sheriff employee, has worked in nearly every department. The Lake County Police Officer lives in Crown Point.
“The jail is not going in the right direction. Correction officers are tired and they’re overworked. If we would quit playing politics or politricks, and put the people where they belong, they won’t have to work 16 hours,” Garcia-Trajkovich said. “If it had better management, and the money was allocated in the right direction, we can fix a lot of these problems.”
A county jail employee was in the news recently, facing charges of intimate sexual contact with an inmate.
Jack Sanchez
Sanchez, a Cedar Lake resident, works at the jail in its Special Operations Response Team (SORT). The team of correction officers is responsible for controlling inmate disturbances. According to the sheriff’s website, “Since the inception of this team, the jail has experienced a substantial reduction in officer and inmate injuries.”
“It’s a nightmare scenario at the jail,” Sanchez said. “I can not tell you what is really happening in there, because I can get in trouble. I can lose my job.”
“We’re mandated to 16 hours every single day you step into that building. We were down to 500 inmates during Covid. We’re sitting at 1100 right now,” Sanchez said.
About the Vivitrol program, Sanchez said, “I don’t believe in getting someone off the substances with another substance to be dependent on.”
Steven Flores
Early in his career, St. John Police Chief Flores was a county sheriff employee.
Now in his 7th year as police chief, the 23 year law enforcement veteran says the problems at the jail are fixable.
“Number one, there’s a lot of inmates waiting to transfer to the state Department of Corrections and that is going to reduce the population in the jail,” Flores said. “It costs anywhere from $55 to $125 a day to house those inmates. The State of Indiana currently gives them $44 a day per inmate.”
“When it comes to the budget, there’s already checks and balances in place that we have to follow. Follow the rules and follow the laws; we have actually nothing to worry about, as I have the last seven years,” Flores said.
David Crane
Crane is the only Republican candidate. The Cedar Lake resident worked for the department for 17 years before retiring. “All the problems in the county jail result from the decade’s long dominance of county government by the Democratic Party,” he said.
A January 2026 Indiana State Board of Accounts audit reported Sheriff Martinez used nearly $300,000 in jail commissary funds between 2022 and 2024, violating state law by spending the funds on donations, golf, and travel.
“I want to bring back accountability and fairness for our citizens in Lake County. The department lacks leadership. We have a sheriff who was indicted for a criminal matter,” Crane said.
“If you look at some of the commissary funds that were misused by our sheriff, you can tie some back to certain candidates’ financial forms. I want
the voters to check that for themselves, to check out the commissary report from the State Board of Accounts,” Crane added.
Jason Gore
Gore is the only one of the candidates who hasn’t worked for the county sheriff department.
His 27-year law enforcement career started at the Merrillville Police Dept. and the last 20 years has been an agent with the federal ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) Department. Gore lives in Schererville.
“We need to fix the infrastructure in the jail. By fixing the infrastructure and adding more people to the jail staff they’re going to be able to properly, constitutionally, and ethically take care of the people that are coming in and out of there,” Gore said. “These are our unsung heroes.”
His focus on the first 100 days will be to hire and train 20 correctional officers; then hire 20 more. “The commissary funds that are raised mainly in the jail, need to go back to the jail for trainings and equipment,” Gore said.
Jerry Williams
The sheriff’s department was Williams introduction to law enforcement; now a major with 33 years of service in the Indiana State Police. He lives in Crown Point.
Williams is commander of the ISP Capitol Police Division in Indianapolis, responsible for security of legislators, buildings and grounds.
“This is a unique field of law enforcement candidates with a great deal of experience that we haven’t seen with past office seekers,” Williams said, “but I more than others have the experience to lead.”
“I’ve done it over the last twelve years in other facilities across the country to help bring best practices to law enforcement, including making the jails better,” Williams said.
In 2021, Gary Mayor Jerome Prince asked the Indiana State Police for help to reform the Gary Police Department. An ISP taskforce headed by Williams was deployed in Gary for nearly 15 months. Williams even served as interim Gary Police Chief for nearly 6 of those months. Williams announced his campaign for Lake County Sheriff in June 2024. Jerry Williams is endorsed by the Gary Crusader Newspaper.
Although the Democratic and Republican Primary contests on May 5th will set up the contestants for the General Election in November, all the attention now is on the 6 Democrats.
The lone Republican candidate is guaranteed a slot in November.