Candidate for
Sheriff-Coroner; County of Santa Cruz

Third-generation County native and 25 year veteran of the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office, Jim Hart currently serves as the Chief Deputy of the Administration Bureau. Jim attended Harbor High School and then went on to the University of Nevada-Reno on an athletic scholarship and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice.

On October 1st, 1988 Jim was hired by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office as a deputy sheriff trainee. After graduating from the police academy in 1989, Jim worked many assignments at the Sheriff's Office including Patrol, Investigations, Court Security, Community Policing, Corrections and Administration.

Jim has worked with four Sheriff's during his tenure at the Sheriff's Office. He was hired by Sheriff Al Noren, promoted to Sergeant by Sheriff Mark Tracy, promoted to Lieutenant by Sheriff Steve Robbins and promoted to Chief Deputy by Sheriff Phil Wowak.

In 1996 he received the Attorney Generals Award for outstanding narcotics enforcement. Jim has received numerous commendations from the community and law enforcement partners for his outstanding work. Jim holds a management certificate from the Commission of Police Officer Standards and Training and he is a graduate of the prestigious Sherman Block Leadership Institute.

Jim has managed every bureau in the office and excelled at implementing new programs in the jails, including the Sheriff's Office response to prison realignment. He has played a key role in the construction of the new Sheriff's Office in Live Oak and moving all Sheriff's Office staff and equipment to the new location. He is instrumental in the promotion of Service Centers as a community resource and was able to negotiate the recent relocation of the San Lorenzo Valley Service Center. Jim has managed the Sheriff's Office multi-million dollar budget and has proven to be a strong fiscal manager and a good steward of public funds.

With integrity and attention to detail Jim has executed all aspects of project management including budgeting, scheduling, and managing resources. He currently helps manage the day-to-day operation of the Sheriff's Office, which has a $75 million budget, over 350 staff and is the largest mutual aid organization in the County. In his service with the Sheriff's Office he has proven to be a tenacious and dynamic leader.

Jim played a vital role in the Sheriff's Office response to prison realignment, by designing the Sheriff's Office Corrections Bureau Custody Alternatives Program when prison realignment went into effect in 2011. Due to his program implementations, the County has received state and national awards and is a model for other California counties. Recidivism rates have decreased 4% last year alone, partly due to the effectiveness of the Custody Alternatives Program that Jim and his team designed.

Jim has worked with local youth for many years, coaching basketball at all age levels. He has been the head girls' basketball coach at Scotts Valley High School for the past eight years.

Jim has four children and resides in Scotts Valley with his wife Jackie and two dogs.