Joshua Vandgrift announces candidacy for Hancock County sheriff

Born and raised in Hancock County, sheriff’s candidate Joshua T. Vandgrift says his campaign is grounded in his faith and a call to public service. He said the main reason he is seeking the office is to love and serve the citizens of Hancock County.

“This community has loved me and my family well over the years, and this would be an opportunity to use the gifts and experiences God has given me to love my friends, neighbors, family and community in return. What greater love is there than for someone to lay their life down for their friends? This biblical principle is what pushed me to throw my hat in the ring,” Vandgrift said.

He said he believes the country needs more people with a biblical worldview to step forward and seek elected office, especially in roles focused on protecting others and the most vulnerable. He also thinks it can be healthy for a community to sometimes choose someone with complementary leadership skills and experience who is not connected to the office, giving the department a new set of eyes and ears to evaluate, review and introduce new methods and ideas.

Vandgrift served as a deputy jailer in Hancock County under then-Jailer Patricia Lambert. He worked as an EMT for the Hancock County Ambulance Service in the late 1990s and early 2000s and served with the Hawesville Volunteer Fire Department while attending Hancock County High School and for several years after graduation.

“I’ve had a high interest in law enforcement and pursued working at the sheriff’s department many years ago,” he said. “At the time, I was told the department was only hiring lateral transfers who had already been through the required training at Eastern Kentucky University to save the county money. I understand that, but I also believe we sometimes need to invest in good people from this county who have a heart to sacrificially serve others.”

He did not serve in the military, a youthful decision he says he now regrets, despite scoring high on the ASVAB and receiving multiple offers from different branches. He said he was more focused on emergency services then and did not realize the opportunity he was passing up to serve his country, family and fellow citizens.

Several of his family members and friends have served in law enforcement or the military, including his grandfather, Henry Vogt, who was wounded in the Korean War.

He said his greatest inspiration has been his parents, Gilbert and Charlotte Vandgrift. Their example of serving and loving others in Hancock County — through Repair Affair projects, visits to nursing homes and funeral homes, helping stranded motorists and singing at local events, often with him alongside — helped shape his desire to serve and protect the public.

“I believe God has used a culmination of my past experience to prepare me for this role and its responsibilities,” Vandgrift said. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. The sheriff’s job is a servant job. They work for the people, not for authority or power. The community puts them there and trusts them to uphold the statutes that have been put in place. You serve at the grace of the community around you. That’s how I view it and how I would do it.”

Along with his emergency services work and experience as a deputy jailer, he has owned multiple small businesses, which he said taught him fiscal responsibility, public relations and how to work with customers, contractors, suppliers and community partners.

Those roles, he said, required him to think outside the box to solve problems. His seven years as a vocational Baptist pastor taught him how to handle difficult situations, including some domestic cases, and to create and oversee policies and procedures.

“It also taught me how to use limited resources for the maximum effect and how to manage, encourage and appreciate those who are in the trenches with you,” he said. “The managerial roles I’ve held at my current employer have further strengthened me by giving me opportunities to oversee complex projects, lead multiple employees and handle a wide range of issues in a 70-plus-employee organization.”

Vandgrift said he views the sheriff as a servant to residents and visitors, with protection and well-being as the top priorities. He believes the sheriff should set the tone for the department by modeling a public servant’s mindset, advocating for safety, reducing crime and pursuing funding and resources to strengthen the office.

“The sheriff ultimately sets this tone and vision to both the deputies and the community around them, models it well and encourages those who work alongside them to operate with this civil servant mindset,” he said.

He noted that the role includes more administrative responsibility than many realize, including tax collection, election oversight, policy management, budgeting, scheduling and recruiting. He said his strengths in organization and policy work align with those duties, describing the position as a way to serve — not through authority, but through stewardship and structure.

His first priority as sheriff, he said, would be an administrative triage of the office. He plans a thorough review of the budget, scheduling, training, administrative processes, fleet, staff morale and mental health, recruitment, policies, procedures and relationships with other agencies to find areas for clear, transparent improvements. He said both staff and trusted community members would have a voice in that review.

He said he would also work to increase patrols, improve response times and strengthen traffic enforcement, particularly in the southern part of the county, even if that means adding deputies. He plans to join the patrol rotation himself once he completes required training and is considering voluntary or part-time reserve deputies to support full-time staff so they can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on the road.

Vandgrift said he wants to build stronger transparency, communication and trust between the sheriff’s office and the public. His plans include a more detailed website with public information and near real-time call reporting that protects sensitive details, a system for anonymous, evidence-based tips and published finances and regular budget updates for citizens to review.

His approach, he said, has two main parts: more presence and interaction with citizens and greater fiscal and operational transparency. He noted that the sheriff and staff are accountable to voters and those who set the budget, and he wants the office to operate above reproach so residents have confidence in how the county’s time, money and efforts are being used.

“Trust cannot be built without interaction and we have to help spur that interaction the best we can. Some departments do ‘Coffee with a Cop’ and ‘Lunch with Law Enforcement’ campaigns, and I plan on scheduling opportunities to spend time with our community and building stronger relationships,” he said.

Vandgrift also said he wants to improve how residents communicate with the sheriff’s office so they can share concerns and ask questions directly. He pointed to discrepancies he sees between monthly call numbers posted on the department’s social media, crime statistics in the Kentucky State Police “Crime in Kentucky” report and court records printed in The Hancock Clarion, saying those differences can make it difficult for people to understand what is really happening in the county.

“We all know that confusion produces concern, and I know that not every call turns into a report, but looking at those differences, we need to make some changes in how we are reporting so that our citizens are reassured as to the state of the county,” he said. “I simply want to have more reliable information available to our citizens and a way to connect on those concerns.”

He said he wants to draw on wise counsel by creating a voluntary advisory board made up of citizens, sheriff’s office personnel and, if possible, a member of Fiscal Court. The group would meet to discuss policies, crime trends, public safety and ongoing challenges, giving community members a direct voice in local policing decisions.

Mindful that policies and budgets affect one another, he said he wants to examine existing policies in detail after the election before committing to changes. He said he does not want to promise specific revisions until he understands how each policy affects the department and the community as a whole.
Vandgrift said he wants the sheriff’s office website to serve as a central hub for communication and public information, building beyond the office’s current reliance on social media. Drawing on his experience building websites, his goal is to provide near real-time reporting on calls while protecting sensitive details and to post the department’s finances, monthly reports, budget benchmarks and year-to-date reports online so citizens can easily see how money is being spent.

He is a strong supporter of body cameras for both accountability and evidence collection and said he would wear one himself while on patrol. He sees no real downside other than cost and believes grants or outside organizations could help cover expenses. He described himself as a bit of a technology geek and said he is always looking for modern tools that make law enforcement work more efficient, effective and safer for everyone involved.
He believes training is critical in law enforcement and can mean the difference between life and death. He plans to review past training records, note deputies’ specialized certifications and identify gaps as part of the administrative triage he has proposed, then look beyond the required 40 hours of yearly training for opportunities and certifications that address emerging issues in the county and better equip the department.

Vandgrift said law enforcement officers, like soldiers, see things they can never unsee and face risks such as burnout and PTSD, so he wants to first review what supports are already in place to be sure deputies have adequate resources. He plans to ensure they have access to a chaplain, a good doctor, a gym and mental health professionals who can help them work through difficult experiences.

He also wants to review scheduling to make sure there is a healthy balance between on-duty and off-duty time so deputies are not overworked in a way that harms their mental health.
He takes a zero-tolerance approach to drugs and drug-related activity, which he believes have no place in Hancock County and often lead to other crime. He said he wants to “double down” on efforts to drive out drug use, trafficking and manufacturing, even if it proves unpopular, because saving even one life would be worth it.

To do that, he plans to increase patrols and especially traffic enforcement, noting that many major drug cases begin with routine traffic stops, and he also wants to add options for anonymous tips by phone and through the sheriff’s website so residents can share actionable information that can lead to investigations and help reduce crime.
He feels that domestic violence cases are serious and should be handled with careful discernment, but said he believes all such calls should be treated first as potential criminal conduct rather than simple dispute mediation or relationship counseling. His approach, he said, would closely follow a domestic violence policy recommended by the Kentucky League of Cities that was updated in May 2025.

For mental health crises, he said those situations should be approached with patience, grace and concern for both the person in crisis and those around them.
“If a crime has been committed during a lapse of mental judgment or a time of mental crisis, I still believe that the consequences for that crime should play out the same as for anyone else, as this would hopefully lead to an emphasis on the need for proper
treatment and proper care for the individual in crisis,” he said.

Vandgrift said his experience as a business owner, executive pastor and manager at Henry’s Plumbing, Heating and Air in Owensboro over the last six years has given him extensive practice working with budgets, financial reports and accountability. He plans to conduct an initial administrative triage and budget review to understand all fixed and variable expenses, then use weekly and monthly tracking to help keep the sheriff’s department within its budget.

He said his years in pastoral ministry have prepared him to meet people at their lowest points and to bring a ministry mindset to the sheriff’s role.

“It’s a blessing when you’re able to be at that crossroad because oftentimes that is their lowest spot. For someone to be able to show them some hope and say here is what Scripture says about sin and what God has done for sin. That’s another reason I wanted to run, because you meet people in those moments. It’s more opportunity to connect with people and be a light in the darkness, not to put yourself on a pedestal,” he said. “You can either condemn them or be firm but with grace, and the way you treat them will leave a lasting impact.”

He said he will regularly review suppliers and spending to make sure funds are being used wisely, and plans to continually seek grants and other funding opportunities to help pay for upgrades without overburdening future budgets.

“I’m not opposed to making changes or reallocating funds, but not at the expense of the safety and well-being of our citizens or our deputies,” he said. “What one person considers ‘better serving the community’ may differ from another, and the sheriff’s department affects the entire county. A change in one area can mean a sacrifice in another that cannot afford to be cut, so we have to keep the whole picture in mind when we adjust how money is distributed.”

He said making sure the sheriff’s office has the tools, training and support it needs will be an ongoing effort because conditions change and the department must keep pace.

“I’ll always be looking for and evaluating new methods, technologies, approaches and resources to help us be the very best we can be with the little piece of earth God has given us to oversee,” he said.

Vandgrift, 45, is a 1998 graduate of Hancock County High School and grew up in South Hancock County. He is the residential install manager at Henry’s Plumbing, Heating and Air, overseeing journeyman technicians who install heating and air systems in homes. He previously managed the plumbing department, which had about two dozen employees each week, and said he now oversees no fewer than 120 projects at a time.

“Five to 10 years down the road, if elected sheriff, I would want people to look back and say our county is safer, our people are more protected and people are moving to this area, and there’s economic growth because people want to live and raise their families here,” he said. “I would hope people would say we’ve had a better focus on safety during my time in office.”

Vandgrift and his wife, Lori, are celebrating 20 years of marriage this year. Lori is a foster care specialist through Sunrise Children’s Services in Owensboro, affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention.

They are blessed with three children, Keegan, Kinsley and Camille, and are members of Union Baptist Church in Hawesville.

The Vandgrifts lead a biweekly community group at their home that is open to anyone who wants to attend; those interested can contact them on Facebook for details.

More information about his campaign, including a full biography, is available at vandgriftforsheriff.com, and his campaign page is at facebook.com/vandgriftforsheriff.

He said anyone with questions is welcome to call 270-222-0411 or email [email protected].