New Box Elder County sheriff to be elected as three remaining candidates vie for the office

BRIGHAM CITY — In a hotly contested race for Box Elder County Sheriff, three candidates remain.

Incumbent Kevin Potter recently lost his Republican primary race to deputy Mike Allred. At the time, three more candidates had gained enough signatures to run as independents: Doug Christensen, Allen Shinney and Chad Hayman. Hayman, however, recently told KSL he is no longer campaigning for the role.

The three remaining candidates are all, in part, motivated after controversy boiled to the surface in January. Agencies from three cities opted to have their dispatch needs fulfilled by the Weber Area 911 dispatch instead of the dispatch center contracted by Utah's Department of Public Safety inside the sheriff's office.

Doug Christensen

To the north, Doug Christensen lives in Bear River City, the community he grew up in and continues to love.

"I've worked here my whole life. I've had a pleasure of working in about every community," Christensen said of being able to work in the area for 16 years with the Utah Highway Patrol. "I think we can be more involved in the communities, more involved in the youths' lives."

Christensen said it was a mentor in law enforcement who inspired him as a teen to pursue a career in the field.

"I had a member of a department that (had) seen the writing on the wall, and stepped in when he needed to step in," he recalled.

Christensen said he'd like to work more closely with deputies and within the community to see where positive changes can be made.

"The county is in a special place where they can help the people and be more involved," Christensen said. "They do a fantastic job, don't get me wrong, but I think there's always room for improvement."

Christensen also added, "It's not a change that can happen overnight, but it's a growth that we need to step into."

Mike Allred

Mike Allred was pushed into the public eye after a deadly shooting took the lives of Sgt. Lee Sorenson and Officer Eric Estrada, with the Tremonton-Garland Police Department in August 2025. Allred and his K-9 Azula were injured in the incident. He announced his run for sheriff last January, defeating incumbent Kevin Potter in their Republican primary in June.

"I know how it works. I know how it operates," Allred said of his time in the sheriff's office. "I know what needs to be fixed and what path we need to take moving forward for both our deputies and this community."

Allred has served six years as a deputy in the Box Elder County Sheriff's Office, and six years as a volunteer with Box Elder County Search and Rescue.

"I've had several conversations with the (Department of Public Safety), and getting our dispatch and asking what I can do to help get their dispatch up and get more funding," Allred said. "What I'm doing is I'm building a bridge. Before, there was no communication between the office and dispatch; if there was issues, that wasn't brought up to them. And that's not dispatchers' fault."

Allred grew up in Box Elder County since the age of eight, and is now seeing grandchildren raised in the area.

Allen Shinney

A retired career law enforcement officer, Allen Shinney comes to the race with the most experience of the three candidates. He's lived in South Willard for 21 years and served for more than 26 years.

"I was a colonel in state law enforcement, then I became the chief law enforcement director of the Utah State Tax Commission," Shinney explained. "I've actually done all facets of the administration."

Shinney is a self-described fiscal conservative.

"When I was over the Tax Commission, in the ten years I was the director, I saved taxpayers $10 million," he recalled. "I'm good at getting to the bottom of things. If there's a house cleaning (that) needs to take place, I'm the guy that has no outside influences. I don't have any political contacts in the county. I would be able to be fair and objective and resolve the issues."

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