Four Democrats have announced their candidacy for the Lake County Sheriff race in 2026, an open seat since Oscar Martinez Jr. cannot seek a third consecutive term.
Retired Federal Agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Jason Gore, 52, announced earlier this month his run for sheriff.
With the ATF, special agents have a mandatory retirement at 57, Gore said, and he couldn’t be promoted further without leaving the Chicagoland area. As he started looking at his “exit plan,” Gore said he decided to run for Lake County sheriff.
“This being an open election, and it being my home, it was an opportunity for me to consolidate all my training experience, partnerships and bring it home to one county and see what I could do here,” Gore said.
Gore, who was born and raised in Hammond, said he became a Merrillville Police officer in 1998. By 2000, Gore was promoted to detective, where he served on a Drug Enforcement Administration task force where he worked on mid- and upper-level drug trafficking cases, he said.
In 2004, Gore said he was hired as a special agent for the ATF, where he was assigned to South Bend, where he created a violent crimes task force. In 2008, Gore said he was transferred to the ATF Merrillville office, where he worked on violent crime, firearm and drug trafficking cases, he said.
Gore said he joined the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force in 2010, and by 2014 he was named the deputy commander of the task force. As deputy commander, Gore said he led the investigations, along with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department detective bureau, into the murders of Gary Police Officer Jeff Westerfield and Merrillville Police Officer Nick Schultz.
By 2017, Gore said he was promoted to the resident agent in charge of the ATF Merrillville office. In 2023, Gore said he became the assistant special agent in charge of the ATF Chicago field division.
If elected, Gore said six pillars would guide him: leadership, partnership, intelligence and technology, crime reduction strategies, accountability and transparency.
“I want to bring the best of policing, police tactics and leadership to Lake County. I want to adjust the culture within the sheriff’s department, and I also want to adjust the external view of the sheriff’s department seen by the public,” Gore said.
Lake County Sheriff Deputy Police Chief Edward Jenkins, 54, announced earlier this month his run for sheriff to bring his nearly 30 years of experience with the department to its helm.
“I know the sheriff’s department inside and out. The sheriff’s department is running well, I think I can take it higher,” said Jenkins. “In the almost 30 years that I’ve been here, I have served the citizens of Lake County very well. There’s not a city, town or township in Lake County in which I have not been a policeman in.”
Jenkins began his career in public safety in 1997 for Lake County as a correctional officer, he said. In 1999, Jenkins became a Lake County Sheriff’s Department police officer, and by 2003 he was promoted to detective for the county sheriff’s department, where he investigated burglaries, homicides, thefts and robberies, he said.
In 2015, Jenkins said he was named the main supervisor for the Lake County metro homicide unit. After Martinez took office in 2017, Jenkins said he was promoted to deputy chief, where he has served for the last 8 years.
In addition to his experience with investigations, Jenkins said as deputy chief he has gained administrative experience including hiring police officers, reviewing budgets and working with other agencies and departments, like probation or courts.
“There is not a lot I have not done,” Jenkins said. “I just believe that I am the most qualified person to be the next sheriff.”
If elected, Jenkins said he’d like to expand the technology officers could use, ensure correctional officers and staff as well as the inmates feel safer inside the jail, and attack the distribution of fentanyl throughout the county.
St. John Police Chief Steven Flores, 47, announced his run for sheriff in January 2024 after family, friends and police officers encouraged him to run for the office.
Growing up, Flores said all he wanted to do was become a police officer just like his father, who served as East Chicago police chief, as well as his uncle and cousin, who also served the East Chicago Police Department.
In 2001, Flores said he served as a volunteer firefighter serving in unincorporated Schererville and as a reserve police officer in St. John. In 2004, Flores said he was hired full-time by the St. John Police Department, and he’s been with the department ever since.
Flores said he started as a patrol officer, and then he went on to work with the K-9 unit. After 8 years in the K-9 unit, Flores said his dog retired and he went on to join the detective bureau, where he rose through the ranks to commander.
As a detective, Flores said he was a member of the Northwest Indiana Major Crimes Task Force, where he worked on a lot of homicide cases and enjoyed collaborating with other law enforcement agencies throughout Lake County.
In 2020, Flores was appointed as the St. John Police Chief. As chief, Flores said he’s been most proud of lobbying the state legislature for $5 million to build a new police building and increased funding for mental health services.
If elected, Flores said he’d like to focus on officer training and connecting with Lake County residents. For officer training, Flores would like officers to be trained in crisis intervention, which they could use in responding to mental health crisis calls.
“I have the experience. I have the knowledge. I’ll be a working sheriff, I’ll be out on the street interacting with officers every day,” Flores said. “There’s been a lot of great successes in law enforcement in Lake County over the last several years. I want to maintain that and create even a safer Lake County.”
In June 2024, Indiana State Police Major Jerry Williams, a Gary Native, announced his run for Lake County Sheriff.
Williams began his law enforcement career as a corrections officer for the Lake County Sheriff’s office before going to work for the Indiana State Police, where he’s worked for the last 31 years, he said.
Over the years with Indiana State Police, Williams said he was a road trooper in Lake County and then a member of a gang task force, where he worked investigations in East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Munster and Highland.
Indiana State Police Maj. Jerry Williams, pictured Tuesday, December 5, 2023. (Michael Gard/Post-Tribune)
Williams also worked in the Indiana State Police internal investigations division before being assigned as lieutenant of the Indiana State Police Lowell District, which encompasses seven counties, he said.
As lieutenant of the Lowell district, Williams said he oversaw urban areas like Gary and East Chicago to rural areas like Pulaski and Starke counties.
Williams said he currently serves as a member of the Indiana State Police executive staff as assistant chief of staff of logistics, which means he supervises the state police’s supply, maintenance, engineering, transportation as well as overseeing all property and facilities the police agency owns.
“At the end of the day, I’m a crime fighter. I pride myself on being that. I’m passionate about doing just that,” Williams said. “Being able to bring that level of understanding to an office like the Lake County Sheriff’s department will be paramount. It’ll give me a leg up, I believe, because it will shorten my learning curve.”
akukulka@post-trib.com
