Utah Civic GuideSalt Lake County · Utah · nonpartisan
Preview · data is being verified · analytical ratings are labeled opinions

County

Rosie Rivera

County Sheriff · Countywide

OfficeCounty SheriffDistrictCountywidePartyDemocraticTerm endsJan 2027Next electionNov 3, 2026 vs. Shane Manwaring (R)Raised$66,697Serving since2017

At a glance

  • Sheriff since Aug 2017; first woman to hold the office.
  • Won 2022 with 62.0%.
  • Oversees a ~$197M jail/court-security/investigations budget (1,213 FTE).
  • On the Nov 3, 2026 ballot vs. Shane Manwaring (R).
Open compare
Analytical assessment, not factLow confidence
OverallModerate to lean liberal
Fiscal
SocialLean liberal
Very liberalModerateVery conservative

Moderate to lean liberal (law-enforcement career Democrat with crossover electoral appeal).

Evidence behind this assessment
  • No 287(g); ICE dashboard (county/KSL/Tribune).
  • Jail overcrowding releases ended Jun 2025 (KUTV).
  • 2018/2022 wins at ~60–62% — well above Democrats' countywide baseline (~51–55%), suggesting crossover appeal (inference).
  • Boards: CJAC, gang task force, DEA narcotics task force advisory, VECC.

Rating method

Ask about this official's record

Answers are estimates of likely positions based only on this official's public record (votes, bills, statements and posts) as stored on this site. They are not statements by the official and may be incomplete. Check the linked sources.

Ask your own question about Rosie Rivera

Full details below are grouped by area. Facts link to public sources; "[COMPUTED]" marks derived dates.

Votes & record
Date Item Source
2025 Office said SLCo jail is not in ICE's 287(g) program and created a public "ICE dashboard" of detainer/transfer statistics ICE dashboard; KSL; Salt Lake Tribune
Jun 1, 2025 Jail ended overcrowding releases after reopening an Oxbow pod (per sheriff) KUTV
Oct 28, 2025 County Auditor performance audit of Metro and Oxbow jails report
2025 Separate audit found jail overcrowding increases recidivism (news) KSL
Campaign finance

Source: EasyVote (filer "Rivera, Rosie").

Report (submitted) Contributions (period) Expenditures (period) Ending balance
YE 2024 (01/30/25) $300.00 $3,715.84 $19,781.23
YE 2025 (01/30/26) $5,705.00 $3,049.52 $22,436.71
Mar 2026 interim (04/05/26) $29,860.00 $5,363.03 $42,281.06
Pre-primary (06/16/26; amended 06/29/26) $15,655.00 $5,710.04 $52,226.02 (amended)
Sep 2026 (09/14/26) $21,182.00 $50,795.18 $22,612.84
  • 2026 period contributions Jan–Sep 10: ≈ $66,697 (sum of interim reports); the summary pages show $0 in the aggregate column, so the aggregate is computed here.
  • Note: the Mar 2026 report's opening balance ($17,784.09) differs from the YE2025 closing balance ($22,436.71) as OCR'd — see Gaps.
Disclosures
  • 2026 COI (dated 01/04/2026): employer Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office; no owned entities, outside income ≥$5k, or stocks ≥$5k; boards as listed above. 2026 PDF
Election history
Year Result Source
2026 GOP convention (opponent) Shane Manwaring 731 (66%) over Nicholas Roberts 383 SLCo GOP PDF
2022 Rivera (D) 229,928 (61.95%) vs Nicholas J. Roberts 141,195 2022 results
2018 Rivera (D) 240,256 (59.63%) vs Justin Hoyal 162,678 2018 results
Lobbying & ethics
  • No lobbyist ties or official ethics findings against her personally found.
  • Sheriff's Office payroll audit (Aug 2024): 6 findings, 10 recommendations; Mar 10, 2026 follow-up: 2 implemented, 7 in progress, 1 closed (staff turnover cited). report · follow-up
  • Sheriff's Office travel audit (May 18, 2026): 4 findings, 10 recommendations. report
Office & term
Item Detail Source
Office County Sheriff (countywide, partisan) — jail, court security, countywide investigations/support Sheriff's Office
Took office Aug 15, 2017 (ratified by County Council to fill Jim Winder's unexpired term; first woman to serve as SLCo sheriff) Deseret News; Salt Lake Tribune
Current term 2023–2026 (ends early Jan 2027) 2026 Budget in Brief p.3
Next election Nov 3, 2026 — Shane Manwaring (R) vs Rosie Rivera (D) 2026 certification
Salary (2026) $200,530 2026 Adopted Budget p.49
Office budget (2026) County Jail $142,013,358 (901 FTE); Court Services & Security $19,899,417 (148 FTE); Countywide Investigations/Support $34,796,865 (164 FTE) — ≈$196.7M / 1,213 FTE in these general-fund lines 2026 Adopted Budget
Stated affiliation
Item Detail Source
Party / ballot label Democratic 2026 certification
Self-description No self-applied ideological label found in official materials —
Boards (2026 COI) Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC); Salt Lake Area Gang Project Governing Board; Major Narcotics Task Force (DEA) advisory; VECC (dispatch) advisory board 2026 COI
Contact (official)
  • Sheriff's Office, 3365 S 900 W, Salt Lake City, UT 84119 · 385-468-9898; Jail (3415 S 900 W): 385-468-8400 — slsheriff.org
Known gaps

Gaps

  • Opening-balance discrepancy (Mar 2026) — verify on EasyVote.
  • Jail release/booking-restriction statistics 2024–2026 and removal of demographic fields from public inmate search (claimed by critics) — GRAMA: Sheriff's Office (Corrections Records).
  • Use-of-force and in-custody death reports — GRAMA: Sheriff's Office; DA (officer-involved review letters are public on DA site).
About this office: Salt Lake County Sheriff

The full-time elected head of the Sheriff's Office, which runs the county jails, provides court security, serves legal papers, and supports countywide investigations and search and rescue.

Role
Countywide jail, court-security and civil-process chief; must be a POST-certified peace officer
Hours
Full-time
Pay
$200,530
Typical week
Running two jails and about 1,200 budgeted staff around the clock, court security, budget and public-safety coordination

Responsibilities and powers

  • Must preserve the peace, make lawful arrests, attend and secure the courts, keep the county jail and its prisoners, and serve court process and notices (Utah Code 17-72-301).
  • The office runs the Metro Jail and Oxbow Jail, plus Public Safety and Law Enforcement bureaus, Search and Rescue and the Mounted Posse, with "over 1,100 employees and volunteers" (SLCo Sheriff).
  • Taylorsville note: day-to-day policing in Taylorsville is done by the city's own police department (FY2027 Police budget $15.3M; Taylorsville FY27 budget), not the Sheriff. Taylorsville residents rely on the Sheriff mainly for the jail and court security [INFERRED].
  • Qualifications: at filing, a POST certificate showing the candidate meets peace-officer standards and can be certified as a law enforcement officer (17-72-201).
  • Four-year partisan term; on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot.

A typical week [INFERRED from the office's bureaus]

  • Jail population and staffing decisions, court-security planning, command-staff meetings, budget and council presentations, community events and media.

Time commitment

  • Full-time and on call [INFERRED].

Staff and budget

  • 1,213 FTEs: County Jail 901, Court Services and Security 148, Countywide Investigations and Support Services 164 (SLCo FTE table). 2026 budget $211.0 million, the largest of any separately elected county office (Budget in Brief p.14).

Pay

  • $200,530 a year, about $89.6k in benefits (2025; public-safety retirement) (SLCo pay schedule p.48).

Sources

Compare with every office →

Sources