Candidate Questionnaire
What is your name: Christina “Chris” Grillon
What office are you seeking? Jailer as a Write-In Candidate
What is your age: 55 yrs old
Please provide your family background (i.e. souse, children, grandchildren, pets).
I have been with my husband, Kurt Wiesen for almost 18 years, married for almost 11. We have 8 children between the two of us. I have 2 daughters and 1 son, he has 2 sons and 1 daughter, and we have 2 children that we took custody of and raised together. We have 7 grandchildren and we now have 1 foster grandchild!
What is your educational background? (i.e. high school, GED, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral degree, etc.).
I graduated from Akron-Fairgrove High School in 1988, then attended Marygrove College in Detroit, MI. I transferred to Saginaw Valley State University and graduated in 1993 with my Bachelor’s Degree.
Have you been elected to a political office previously? If so, what office(s) and when did you hold those office(s)?
I have not previously held an elected office.
What is your professional background? (Please include career and any boards and volunteer work).
I began my career in corrections as a floor deputy at the Daviess Co Detention Center in the early 2000’s, where I eventually held positions overseeing the Commissary Department and then as Class D Coordinator.
I joined the staff at the Henderson County Detention Center in October of 2006. I started out as a floor deputy, eventually moving into the booking department. I left briefly in 2008, but returned in May of 2009, where I remained until August of this year. After returning as a floor deputy in 2009, I was able to move back into the booking department as a booking officer, eventually supervising the booking department. I then moved to the Class D Department as the coordinator for state inmates before returning to the booking department. Ultimately, I took over supervision of both departments, a position I held until my departure in August.
I provided statistical data and trends to Involvement, Inc., helping to allow them to secure initial grant funding for the 51st Grant Program, which provides monies that can be used to cover the cost of court-mandated drug screening programs and fund the cost for court-approved home incarceration programs, providing an alternative to traditional incarceration and easing the burden of cost associated with housing county pretrial inmates. Involvement, Inc. continues to apply for and receive this funding annually.
Prior to my departure in August, I was serving as the chair of the Involvement 51st Grant Board.
I was a member of the Community Corrections Committee, a multi-disciplinary group of professionals covering a multitude of agencies, including the Henderson County School District, family, circuit and Division I and II judges, the Henderson Police Department, the Henderson Co Sheriff’s Department, Henderson County Social Service agencies, KY State Police Post 16, the 911 Communications Department, and both the Henderson County Attorney’s office and the Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, to name a few. I represented the Henderson County Detention Center, and the committee was created to address and identify current issues, trends and community concerns, build relationships, and discuss potential solutions for issues that members of the committee felt directly affected individuals in the court and correctional systems, and ways to remove possible barriers from successful movement out of those systems and back into communities.
Represented the Henderson County Detention Center on a regional Crisis Intervention Committee that met quarterly to discuss ways to improve communication between law enforcement agencies, mental health professionals and crisis stabilization providers, in order to more effectively provide mental health services and intervention to individuals coming into contact with law enforcement, primarily as the result of underlying mental health issues that were often undiagnosed, untreated or under-treated.
I was certified as an MRT (Moral Reconation Therapy) facilitator and oversaw both MRT and Anger Management classes on a volunteer basis. I became certified to facilitate Trauma classes earlier this spring.
Assisted with the most recent revisions of the Henderson County Detention Center Policy & Procedure Manual, was part of the team that introduced the body scanner into the facility, drafted and presented policy that was approved by fiscal court earlier this year to expand the inmate work force and provide work incentives to state inmates.
I am a member of Niagara United Methodist Church, where I have been a volunteer youth group leader for over 20 years, and member of the praise team for the last 18 years.
Why are you running for office?
In my years as a correctional officer, I have had opportunity to wear virtually every hat that could be worn. I have passed trays, conducted head counts, run the control tower, processed and released thousands of detainees, oversaw the application of all court documents, developed strong relationships with outside law enforcement, the court system and the public, reconciled contract billing and trained dozens of employees. I have in-depth and practical knowledge of the culture and needs of a correctional facility, and
I understand the importance of teamwork, leadership, accountability and what it truly means to mentor and lead by example.
I am also the granddaughter of a World War II veteran, the daughter of a Vietnam veteran, and the wife of a retired veteran. I believe in every single thing that they fought and served to protect. I believe in the right to exercise individual freedoms, and the right to do so free from the fear of political retaliation and without the promise of political reward. I believe that we have the right to disagree, but the duty to be respectful. I believe that these qualities should be possessed by and reflected in the people that are entrusted to represent the citizens that have elected them.
I have the knowledge, experience and ability to fulfill the role of Henderson County Jailer, and the desire to be a good steward of the responsibility that such a role requires.
If elected to office, what would be your top three goals?
1. Review of current Henderson County Detention Center HR procedures and practices with the intent to move towards the implementation of measurable, defined criteria that create fair and equitable advancement opportunities for all employees.
2. Review of current expansion plan, including comparative data and risk/reward factors.
3. Review of current inmate programming, accessibility, and evidence-based curriculums in an attempt to provide opportunities for growth & change more universally across the inmate population.
Why should people vote for you?
I seek only to serve. I want to provide inspiration and the hope of a better tomorrow to incarcerated individuals, and the desire to stay and grow to the deputies that show up every day to protect us all. I truly believe that leading by example and being a source of consistent support and firm but fair application of policies, procedures and the law creates an environment of acceptance
and opportunity for everyone. These are things I have always done, and traits I have always tried to exhibit.
Please feel free to add an additional comment.
I believe it is extremely important to get information out to Henderson County voters regarding write-in candidates. Voters may ask poll site volunteers who the write-in candidates are, and they can request assistance in casting their ballot if they so desire. Most citizens I have talked to were not aware of these rights or that they could ask.
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