Scott Goddard Wins Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Race

“Very humbling, it really is – it hasn’t sunk in completely yet,” Scott Goddard, Crow Wing County’s Sheriff-Elect, said.

If you have driven through Crow Wing County recently, you have noticed the signs – Goddard or Pickar – and may have asked who would become the next sheriff. Last night by over 2,500 votes, Scott Goddard outlasted Pat Pickar for the Sheriff’s seat.

“Woke up this morning still kind of in campaign mode, and had to reset my brain,” Goddard said. “We are moving forward; this is real, it’s really one of those ‘pinch me’ moments.”

Although the ads seemed to grow larger and larger, the campaign was never negative, and Goddard says Pickar will remain with the Sheriff’s Office, but for Goddard, the sheriff title is a dream come true.

“Being in law enforcement is the only job I’ve ever wanted to do since I was 13 or 14-years-old,” Goddard said. “So, I guess to reach, in my mind, the pinnacle of service to our community, is truly a humbling experience for myself.”

One big turning point in the race was the endorsement Goddard got from the current Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl.

“Sheriff Dahl’s endorsement was big, absolutely,” Goddard said. “I’m very, very, honored to earn that from him. I was proud of the fact of getting it, not only on a professional level, but also as a friend-to-friend level. Campaign-wise it was important, but personally it was even more important. Just to have that realization that our current sheriff who has served three terms would come out and publicly say, ‘Scott’s your guy’ – that meant a lot to me and my family.”

Now, Goddard and Dahl will work together to make the transition as smooth as possible come 2019.

“It’s going to be a really quick transition of getting people in their places, and we got some promotional opportunities coming up in our office due to the moves,” Goddard said. “We are going to continue what we’ve been doing. We have excellent personnel, we are very proud of the people we have, not only in the Sheriff’s Office, but all of Crow Wing. We are very proud of the product that we deliver, and we are going to continue to excel at that.”

Pat Pickar was unable to be reached for comment.