Three first-time candidates for sheriff in Coastal Georgia won these powerful law enforcement posts as voters favored change and reform in these positions that control jails and solve crimes on county lines.

In Chatham County, Democrat Richard Coleman upset two-term Republican Sheriff John Wilcher in an election centered on issues related to burdensome inmate visitation policies and jail conditions.

In McIntosh County, the seat vacated by Republican Sheriff Stephen Jessup went to Georgia state patrol major Thornell “TK” King, who defeated Jessup’s top deputy, Chris Mitchell. King is a Democrat in a district where Donald Trump is leading by more than 28 points against Kamala Harris for the U.S. presidency.

In Camden County, James “Kevin” Chaney unseated 12-year incumbent Jim Proctor as voters sought greater accountability and transparency in the embattled sheriff’s department. Chaney was the Republican candidate, while Proctor ran as an independent.

The sheriff’s job is to run the county jail, handle inmates, and often intervene in rehabilitation programs, as well as serve arrest warrants and maintain courthouses.

Chatham: ‘A different location’

When Coleman, a Georgia police chief and longtime Savannahian, first announced his candidacy in August 2023, political figures in Chatham County rejected his candidacy.

Incumbent Wilcher was a rare conservative who had the support of both Republicans and Democrats in the county known as a blue dot in the politically conservative part of the state.

Some Democratic members of the Savannah City Council openly supported re-electing the no-nonsense sheriff.

While Coleman initially sought to improve conditions at the prison for both the inmates and the deputies who worked there, he added a large wooden campaign board. a wedge problem in the race: in-person visit.

An investigation by Available in spring 2023 Found Chatham and other prisons on the coast generate huge revenue It charges people jail fees for phone calls, video calls and text messages, while banning face-to-face visits due to Covid-19. This happened through contracts prisons had with telecommunications providers.

Wilcher’s agency collected nearly $1.3 million in fees from contracts between 2021 and 2023. Available‘s report also found that families are struggling to pay fees to stay in touch with their loved ones who are detained and awaiting trial. Wilcher explains the fees as a way to help pay for rehabilitation programs without increasing taxes.

The total revenue raised shocked Coleman. He said he has heard from many Chatham residents about the emotional and financial toll of staying in touch with incarcerated family members and not being able to see them in person.

“Part of the campaign is not (just) your ideas, but input from the people you will be representing,” Coleman said. “I really sat back and studied this. I knew then that I would take a different position on this issue.

The campaign has changed as follows: Wilcher’s health deteriorated. He suffered a heart attack in June, spent months in the hospital, and eventually returned to duty in September. He has been living in a wheelchair ever since and said in a recent interview that he only works in the office two days a week.

According to unofficial vote counts, Coleman won by a wide margin of 54.04% to Wilcher’s 45.96%. Coleman received 73,948 votes, while Wilcher received 62,882 votes.

Coleman has promised to review prison operations, policies and personnel when he takes office in January. He wants to expand street operations and enforcement to assist local law enforcement, as well as stop charging fees for communications between detainees and family members.

McIntosh: From state marshal to sheriff

McIntosh County has had the same top-level law enforcement since 2009.

So when Sheriff Jessup decided not to run for re-election in 2024, it created a new leadership opportunity for a position Became infamous due to news headlines about racial profiling in the traffic stops and good boys networks referred to on the pages “I pray for Sheetrock.”

King threw his hat in the ring as a Democratic candidate.

Longtime McIntosh resident and Georgia State Patrol major honour This change, made by the state legislature in 2021, has fueled increased trust between law enforcement and the citizens of McIntosh. Chris Mitchell, who is running as the Republican candidate, said he would prioritize reducing the debt the sheriff’s office has accrued while keeping citizens safe through “proactive policing.”

King won with 52.49%, or 3,875 votes, to Mitchell’s 47.51%, or 3,508 votes, according to unofficial totals filed Wednesday afternoon.

King did not respond to a request for comment.

Camden: Accountability, transparency

The race for sheriff in Camden County has been marked by concerns about transparency and sky-high costs imposed on taxpayers.

Since mid-2022, Available He reported on balloon problems at the sheriff’s office.

Camden deputies severely beat inmate Jarrett Hobbs in September 2022, but the incident did not come to light until February 2023, when Hobbs’ attorneys released video of the beating.

The attack on Hobbs, who was initially arrested by Camden deputies for speeding and possession of marijuana and ecstasy, was a vivid example of a pattern of abusive behavior among some Camden County Sheriff’s Office deputies. They were also accused force drivers to pull over And violently beating prisoners in prison. This improper conduct has led to indictments against five lawmakers since 2022, hundreds of thousands of dollars in lawsuits and subsequent higher insurance rates. The district’s insurer abandoned the coverage for the government.

Hobbs case and other cases involving Camden MPs still ongoing is under investigation by federal prosecutors.

Dissatisfied with the status quo, Chaney decided to run against his former boss Proctor. Chaney said he is running on a platform of increasing transparency in the office, reducing costly incidents resulting from police misconduct and fixing the broken prison. Proctor said he has addressed issues at the prison and among its staff.

According to unofficial counts Wednesday evening, Chaney won the election with 15,926 votes, or 63.21%, while Proctor received 9,271 votes, or 36.79%.

According to Chaney, the biggest change in the administration will be how it responds to domestic problems.

“I can’t stop the lawsuits. I can’t stop the problems in the sheriff’s office,” Chaney said. “How do we deal with these mistakes? Now I say, go public, explain it to them, I say, ‘Listen, we made a mistake. This is what it is. That’s how we want to be. Here are the steps.'”

Chaney’s other priorities include working with commissioners to secure funding construction of a new prison, Peer support programs addressing deputies’ mental health and publishing monthly or quarterly transparency reports to the public on use of force, citations and other operations.

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