Other questions on the Nov. 7 ballot will doubtless produce more heat, but no local issue may be more important than the proposal to extend the term limit for the Boulder County sheriff from four to five terms.

That’s because being sheriff of Boulder County requires an unusual and complex skill set. In a jurisdiction that tends to elect county commissioners devoted to environmental causes, the sheriff stands on the front line of some of our most pressing social problems – public safety, obviously, but also homelessness, mental illness and the growing risk of emergencies from wildfires and floods.

With 37 years in local law enforcement, half with the city of Boulder and half with the county, Sheriff Joe Pelle is uniquely suited to this difficult job. More remarkable, he loves it. But if the ballot measure to extend the office’s term limit fails, Pelle will be forced to leave the post next year, when his fourth four-year term expires.

Read more at The Boulder Daily Camera.