Candidate for
Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator; County of El Dorado

Captain Craig Therkildsen grew up in El Dorado County and attended Gold Oak Elementary School in Pleasant Valley. While in grammar school, he was a cub scout in pack 460. Craig went on to attend Ponderosa High School in Shingle Springs where he played football and ran track.

Craig met his wife Polly Gastaldi in 1974, in college, while on a geology field trip. They have been married for 23 years and raised two daughters Carly and Stacy, who are 4th generation El Dorado County residents. They are currently attending Sac State, Carly as an Electrical Engineer and Stacy a Mechanical Engineer.

For fourteen years, Craig coached El Dorado County boys and girls in youth sports including basketball and soccer through the Placerville Parks and Rec and NJB basketball in Cameron Park. He coached both his daughters' competitive softball teams, traveling with them across the country, participating in national tournaments. He also coached girls Varsity softball and JV basketball at El Dorado High School.

Craig first got interested in law enforcement when he took a police science class from Undersheriff Don McDonald. In 1982 he was hired by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office as a volunteer Reserve Deputy Sheriff and extra-help Deputy Sheriff while continuing to work construction. In 1983 the County was going through budget cuts and was facing layoffs. He was hired by the South Lake Tahoe Police Department as a police officer, attending the academy in Santa Rosa. In 1984 he was hired back by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office by Sheriff Dick Pacileo.

Craig worked in the South Lake Tahoe area until he transferred to the main office in Placerville in 1987. In that same year Craig was awarded the Bronze Medal of Valor. While working Patrol, Craig was a Field Training Officer. He was promoted to Sergeant by Sheriff Don McDonald in 1991.

Craig opened Sheriff's Sub-Stations in Georgetown and Pollock Pines, and later supervised the Sub-Stations in El Dorado Hills and Cameron Park. At that time, Craig served as an assistant to Sheriff Hal Barker, in the neighborhood Community Policing and Problem Solving program.

In 2003, Craig was promoted to Lieutenant by Sheriff Hal Barker. In 2009 Craig was promoted to Captain by Sheriff Jeff Neves. As Captain, he manages the Custody Division, with jails in South Lake Tahoe and Placerville. He manages the Bailiffs and Court Security. He also manages the Sheriff's Team of Active Retirees, the STAR volunteers.

Craig is a member of the Placerville Kiwanis and the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, the Shingle Spring/Cameron Park Chamber of Commerce and the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce.

For the past four years, Craig has been back in Boy Scouts, in a management position, serving as the District Chair for the El Dorado District. Craig received the District Award of Merit in 2009, the Silver Bear Award.