Brian Gardner wins race for Linn County Sheriff

CEDAR RAPIDS - Democrat Brian Gardner will remain Linn County's Sheriff for the next four years.

Gardner, 54, of Cedar Rapids, solidified his third term as sheriff - he was first elected in 2008 - with a resounding victory Tuesday over Libertarian challenger Rick Stewart.

'I'd like to thank the voters for understanding the importance of electing someone who has the experience, knowledge, and professionalism to properly lead the Sheriff's Office,” Gardner said Tuesday. 'As sheriff, I will continue to ensure that the men and women of the Linn County Sheriff's Office provide the highest quality and most professional services attainable.”

Gardner secured 72,032 votes to Stewart's 25,567 votes.

Official election results are to be finalized when votes are canvassed in about one week.

Stewart could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

The Linn County Sheriff serves a four-year term and oversees an office of more than 180 full-time employees - most of them sworn officers - with an annual budget of more than $20 million. The county sheriff makes about $143,000 a year.

Gardner was hired by the sheriff's office as a communications operator in 1980. He became a reserve deputy in 1981 and was hired on full time in 1982. Since then, Gardner has held various positions within the department and climbed to the rank of major in 2008. He was elected sheriff that same year.

Stewart, 65, also from Cedar Rapids, said he was briefly a Maquoketa police officer in the 1970s, but was fired for refusing to shave his beard. He later founded Frontier Natural Products Co-op. He ran for the U.S. Senate in an unsuccessful 2014 bid.