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February 29, 2008
Who will be our next sheriff?
With no fewer than ten candidates to fill the interim spot left open by former Sheriff Billy Long's resignation, the Hamilton County Commission has struggled to locate a majority vote for any one of the contenders. It didn't help that the deal was: if you get appointed as interim, you don't run in the August special election. (Full disclosure: I support such a measure.)
It is probably best, then, to have Chief Deputy Allen Branum serve as acting head of the department until the voters decide on a replacement. I understand that the state statute uses the word "shall" in directing a county commission's actions in such an event as ours; but I'll leave the parsing to the lawyers.
Forgoing an appointment would also free up any of the ten would-be appointees to run as electoral candidates. I'm betting that Dave Alverson will run; not to mention Chief Branum. Who else? Richard Thurman is another likely candidate.
My main concerns regarding the priorities of the next Sheriff are: upkeep of the Domestic Violence Task Force, drastic reform at the Hamilton County Jail, and (even though I hate to admit this is necessary, but things are getting a little crazy) bolstering the School Resource Officer (SRO) program.
Hamilton County Elections | By joe lance | 09:28 PM