JACKSON, Wyo. — At the July 16 Teton County Coroner candidate forum, candidates discussed several issues facing the office, including converting space above the morgue to be affordable housing, managing the annual budget and upgrading the existing morgue space.
Some candidates also criticized the current leadership by Dr. Brent Blue — who is on the ballot for Teton County Commissioner this year. They questioned Blue’s level of involvement in death investigations and raised concerns about how often he is physically present, according to comments made at the forum.
In an interview after the forum, Blue said he wasn’t upset by the comments and rejected the suggestion that the office lacks oversight, saying the coroner’s office is run professionally and that his limited presence at death scenes reflects how the office is staffed, not neglect.
“The coroner’s office is thousands of percent better than when I took over 12 years ago,” Blue told Buckrail. “It’s now run professionally and there is no reason for me to be at every death in the county.”
Blue went on to say that the accusations that he didn’t take many on-call shifts and was often absent were frustrating for him, because if he were to take shifts it would affect the deputies’ income. To him, he said, it makes no difference since he’s on salary. “I see no reason to rob my deputies of income,” he said.
In terms of the budget for the office, which comes in around $250,000 per year, Blue told Buckrail that he’s come in under budget annually every year since becoming coroner, explaining that he has a frugal approach to running the office.
While Blue is not a candidate in the coroner’s race, his leadership of the office remained a point of discussion at the forum.
The primary election is around the corner, one Republic and one Democrat will advance to the general election. Votes can be cast on Tuesday, August 18. Whoever takes the office will inherit the questions raised at the forum: what to do with the space above the morgue, how to manage the annual budget, and how present the county’s next coroner should be at the work itself.
