Candidates for Mesa County Coroner Dean Havlik, left, and Meagan Johnson answer questions from members of the Redlands Mesa Rotary Club during their debate at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Candidates for Mesa County Coroner Dean Havlik, left, and Meagan Johnson answer questions from members of the Redlands Mesa Rotary Club during their debate at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Dean Havlik, candidate for Mesa County Coroner, at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Meagan Johnson, candidate for Mesa County Coroner, at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Candidates for Mesa County Coroner Dean Havlik, left, and Meagan Johnson answer questions from members of the Redlands Mesa Rotary Club during their debate at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
With his candidacy to return to the position of Mesa County coroner, Dean Havlik is in the midst of his fourth campaign for an elected position.
Despite that, he said that Friday’s debate with opponent Meaghan Johnson, hosted by the Redlands Rotary Club at the Venue at Fisher’s Market, was the first time he’s ever participated in a debate throughout all that campaigning.
Havlik, the Republican candidate for coroner who served as the county’s coroner from 2007-2018 before exiting because of term limits, and Johnson, the Democratic candidate who most recently served as the manager at Callahan-Edfast Mortuary for nearly two years after a decade of being a funeral director in Minnesota, had the opportunity to speak to Rotary Club members, answer their questions and make their case to serve as coroner for at least the next four years.
Both candidates said that having the rare opportunity to speak to community members about the position proved valuable.
“Before I came here, I was asked, ‘Do we actually vote for the coroner?’ A lot of people don’t even realize that you vote for the coroner,” said Havlik, who said he would welcome Colorado shifting to a system of appointing coroners instead of elections deciding them because of the non-partisan, non-political nature of the job.
“It brings attention to the fact that, yes, you do vote for the coroner here in Colorado and it’s good to bring out the information that’s important to the office. Coroner is a very important job and some people don’t realize that. It provides information to not only families but public health and law enforcement and attorneys.”
“I think, in general, a great positive effect of speaking to any person as a member of the community is there’s not a lot of education and information about what the coroner’s office does,” Johnson added. “Most folks get their information from watching crime shows and things like that, and it really looks like more of a glamorous position. Really, it’s a behind-the-scenes professional, respectful position that’s completely dedicated service to the community.”
Candidates for Mesa County Coroner Dean Havlik, left, and Meagan Johnson answer questions from members of the Redlands Mesa Rotary Club during their debate at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
The debate began with both candidates providing introduction statements about why voters should consider them on the ballot.
Havlik, who’s one of few certified forensic pathologists in the state, pointed to that experience as well as his experience serving Mesa County as coroner.
“I sat out my four years and I’m really eager to serve my community again,” Havlik said. “I miss serving my community and these four years have not been my ideal last four years. There’s about 15 forensic pathologists in Colorado and I’m the only one here in Western Colorado. Ideally, if there’s a forensic pathologist in the county to be coroner, that’s usually the ideal person to be elected to coroner.”
Johnson said that she’s running to serve as another viable candidate. Otherwise, Havlik would be running unopposed. She also noted that she’s received training for the position and also an endorsement from the county’s current coroner, Victor Yahn.
“Ideally, this would be an independent office that’s separate from related agencies, so while I’m not a doctor, I would like to be the other leg in that system and have that opportunity to serve my community,” Johnson said.
Dean Havlik, candidate for Mesa County Coroner, at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Along with his experience, Havlik is pointing toward the coroner’s office’s budget as a reason why a change in direction is needed.
According to a chart distributed by Havlik at the event, from 2015-2018, the final four years of Havlik’s stint as coroner, the annual budget hovered just above $450,000, while under Yahn, the budget increased to roughly $575,000 in 2019 and has risen to $750,000 this year.
Havlik said that much of the increased budget stems from the office not being led by a forensic pathologist. He believes that, on top of forensic pathology, other duties he could perform himself as coroner that are currently tasked to others include lab work looking at slides under microscopes, certain toxicology tests, investigative work and looking at medical records.
Havlik wants all employees of the coroner’s office to be local, as he sees multiple budgetary and transparency benefits in no longer relying on “people from the other side of the mountains.”
“It will also improve communications,” Havlik said. “In The Sentinel, if there’s a death, you don’t actually hear about who the person was or how the person died until like four days later. That’s because there’s a delay in getting autopsies done. That won’t happen anymore. Everyone will know the information the next day because it’s all going to be done locally.”
Johnson was asked how she would operate the office and said that any changes would be “nothing too crazy.”
“I don’t think the office should have a lot of changes,” she said. “I think the transfer (to Yahn) was big enough, but one thing I do agree on with Dr. Havlik is that Mesa County does deserve a dedicated forensic pathologist, which is in high demand but there’s not a lot of persons with that level of education and focus, so that would be something that the current coroner, Coroner Yahn, is building into the budget as the next big investment.”
Meagan Johnson, candidate for Mesa County Coroner, at The Venue at Fischer’s Market in Grand Junction, Colo., Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Barton Glasser
Johnson said she would place less emphasis on returning the office to its pre-Yahn operations, as she believes some of the changes he’s brought to the table will prove beneficial for the coroner’s office in the long run.
“My real aim is just to pick up the torch and oversee a smooth transition,” Johnson said. “I truly believe in some of the things (Yahn) has done. There’s suicide grief counselors and family liaisons that really create a more transparent and more efficient office. That’s my goal for it as well.”
As is the case in the overwhelming majority of American elections, voters will ultimately decide between placing a Republican or a Democrat in office.
However, Havlik has experience campaigning as a member of both parties. He once campaigned for coroner as a Democrat in the early 2010s, but roughly a decade ago, he switched his party affiliation to Republican.
Havlik said that his party switch was solely about his personal politics and that, as far as he’s concerned, party affiliation and opinions on hot-button issues are irrelevant when it comes to the coroner position.
“It should not be a political position,” Havlik said.
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