By Madeleine Graham
With the November 5 election fast approaching, East Village Magazine sat down with the two candidates running for Genesee County Sheriff, Democratic incumbent Chris Swanson and Republican candidate Jeff Salzeider, to learn more about each man and their platform.
Salzeider resides in Montrose and is a former United States Marine Corps officer who served 30 years on both active and reserve duty from 1984 to 2014. During that time, he explained, he was stationed in Michigan, Italy, and Germany, as well as spent two years at Quantico, Virginia as an operations officer with the Wounded Warrior Regiment.
Salzeider said that while he doesn’t have civilian law enforcement experience directly, he feels his background in military service lends itself well to the office he’s seeking.
“Leadership is important, especially for the sheriff’s office,” he told East Village Magazine (EVM) in September.
Incumbent Chris Swanson lives in Fenton and told EVM that he began his career in law enforcement at 18 years old. That’s when he was hired as a seasonal marina deputy, a position from which he moved on to a role as a full-time corrections deputy about two years later
From there, Swanson continued up through the ranks to eventually land as Genesee County Sheriff, first by appointment in 2019 and then by election in 2020. Swanson now has over 30 years of experience in law enforcement.
Q: What drew you in for running for the office of sheriff?
“Citizens of Genesee County deserve a choice, and I am the conservative choice,” Salzeider explained. “Politics should not enter into law enforcement, but residents should have a choice.”
Salzeider said he feels he’s qualified to be sheriff due to his experience in the military, where he served as an infantry officer, a platoon commander, a company commander, and a battalion commander among other operations and logistics roles.
“The sheriff’s office is not dissimilar to operations in the Marine Corps,” he said.
As to what makes him the ideal candidate, Salzeider said he has “integrity and proven leadership skills” as well as the “ability to work with the people” and to use and improve programs that are working.
For his part, Swanson said he’d wanted to be sheriff since his first law enforcement role at 18.
“I am the only sheriff to come through the ranks in Genesee County,” he said. “The sheriff’s office has allowed me to do so many things by being sheriff, and I will be forever grateful. I protect, serve and unify. The programming and culture we have created has set the bar for the world just with Genesee County.”
As the Democratic candidate, Swanson said he’d bring ethics and values to the sheriff’s role.
“Ethics are non-negotiable. You have to have an ethical code,” he said. “ I have always maintained that I am a protector of people. I am a unifier. I choose to be positive despite seeing so much death, so much brokenness, so much pain…. I celebrate victories and believe in second chances.”
Q: What are your thoughts on the Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education (I.G.N.I.T.E.) program?
Swanson launched I.G.N.I.T.E. to combat generational incarceration through education. He said he grew up seeing “poverty, brokenness and homelessness” and felt that there needed to be a shift from “an incarceration mindset to education.” So, he started I.G.N.I.T.E. in 2020 to provide inmates with job training and positive skill reinforcement, and the program is now offered both in Genesee County and nationally through other sheriff’s offices.
Salzeider called I.G.N.I.T.E. “a good program” and said he would continue to support it.
“There should be a punitive aspect and a rehabilitative aspect with education and training to be a good citizen,” Salzeider added.
Q: What are your thoughts on the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (G.H.O.S.T.) program?
Another program Swanson formed is G.H.O.S.T., a task force dedicated to stopping human trafficking in the county. Swanson told EVM that the idea for the team came from an operation he worked on in Haiti in 2017 and 2018, when he was undersheriff for Genesee County and serving under Sheriff Pickell.
“We worked in 63 counties with other sheriffs throughout the state and 9 states throughout the country,” Swanson noted, adding that the program has caught “over 200 predators” to date.
Salzeider said he was “completely supportive” of the G.H.O.S.T. program and he would plan to continue it while also looking for new innovative ways to manage law enforcement.
“It would not be my position to change anything that is working good,” he said.
Q: What are your thoughts on being tough on crime? How will you reduce recidivism?
“Laws are made by legislators, and the role of the sheriff department is there to enforce the law as it is with public safety,” Salzeider said, adding that there is “some subjectivity” in enforcement.
“You don’t just enforce the law as a position of power, [you] need to understand the intent of the law with public safety as the overall objective,” he said. “The sheriff position should not be wielding power over everybody. The sheriff should be a friend, not someone you are afraid of.”
As to cutting down on recidivism — or reducing reoffenses by those already convicted — Salzeider nodded to existing programs and his ability to be flexible.
“I think the I.G.N.I.T.E. program is part of that,” he said. “The other part is a disincentive to crime. I support being tough on crime. The G.H.O.S.T. program with cyber is good and should crack down severely on [criminals]. Operational planning adjusts as you go.”
For his part, Swanson pointed to recent crime statistics in the area, including a 17% reduction in crime in Flint and Genesee County and a 40% reduction in homicide rate since 2021. He, too, pointed to the I.G.N.I.T.E. program as a powerful solution to recidivism, citing a recent Harvard Law study in proof.
“[Our] jail count is down nearly 100 per day then it was a year ago,” Swanson said. Noting he plans to “continue to do what we do because it’s working.”
Q: Do you think a social worker should be a first responder?
“A social worker would have expertise in behaviors or personalities and give an analysis to give support,” Salzeider said. “Every officer can’t be a social worker. It would be a benefit to lend support or to give expertise.”
However, Salzeider added, “I would disagree with a social worker being a first responder.”
For his part, Swanson said his office already has a social worker on the team, and they work with Genesee Health System (GHS).
Q: What do you feel about the January 6 incident, and what are your thoughts about militias?
Salzeider told EVM he was “a very strong supporter of President Trump” but said that “a lot of the politics should not be a part of the duties” of the sheriff’s office. Regarding militias, he added, “I am transparent that if there is such a thing as a militia they should work hand in hand with law enforcement and not be an independent rogue.”
“Words have consequences in every level of politics. What I saw was that our capitol was attacked by our own people. It could have been stopped,” Swanson said of January 6. As for militias, he continued, “there are no better people to maintain order than our own law enforcement.”
The upcoming general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2025. For more information on voter registration deadlines, what’s on your ballot, and more, visit VOTE411.org.
