Berry needs to mend wounds at home, stay out of other county's politics
Everyone who reads this blog with regularity realizes I supported Oconee County Sheriff Scott Berry in his recent re-election campaign, however his first official duty after winning the Primary made me at least pause to reconsider whether I should have supported Trey Downs or not.
I do think Trey will be our next Sheriff in 2016. But this is about playing politics outside the county.
That initial action by Berry upon winning another term was endorsing the runner up in the recent primary in former Sheriff Clayton Lowe in his attempt to regain the lead law enforcement officer position in nearby Madison County. Lowe lost to current Sheriff Kip Thomas four years ago and Lowe was second in the Primary 15 days ago. The difference then was 500 votes and the difference tonight was 300.
Tonight Thomas retained the Sheriff's office in the run off by a similar percentage as in the primary. I would think most folks in any nearby county would bristle at the suggestion of an out of county sheriff in the political process. Lowe was the subject of a Federal complaint to the Justice Department in his tactics of intimidating voters before and after the Primary. One of Lowe's neighbors even alleged the former Sheriff planted marijuana and trespassed numerous times on his mostly Clarke County property.
The reins of police power are seldom let go willingly in any Georgia county. The office of Sheriff still wields a mighty clout especially in the more rural areas around the state. Some jurisdictions are run like fiefdoms, while others are most cooperative with the adjoining areas. We are blessed to have some of the best, if not totally different, kind of lawmen around Athens and Oconee County. I am always surprised at the number of law enforcement officers that live in Oconee County and work for the Georgia State Patrol, the Walton County, Snellville, Monroe, or other jurisdictions nearby.
I hope whatever transpired between a prisoner not getting from Danielsville to Watkinsville will not repeat and Sheriffs Berry and Thomas need to sit down and figure out what is best for both counties to get along for the State of Georgia and cut out the bullshit in the media. There are more important things to do than quibble about who should have called whom and get the people in jail where they need to be in jail.
Sorry I respect you both, the offices, and the governments, and know we can do better together as opposed to apart. I will get off my soap box now. May Madison County continue to have the best law enforcement possible as I know Oconee County already has and will in the future. May the municipalities work well with the Sheriffs in knowing what is going on in all areas, and may no prisoners escape nor law enforcement officials be lost in the line of duty. We need to heal folks.
I do think Trey will be our next Sheriff in 2016. But this is about playing politics outside the county.
That initial action by Berry upon winning another term was endorsing the runner up in the recent primary in former Sheriff Clayton Lowe in his attempt to regain the lead law enforcement officer position in nearby Madison County. Lowe lost to current Sheriff Kip Thomas four years ago and Lowe was second in the Primary 15 days ago. The difference then was 500 votes and the difference tonight was 300.
Tonight Thomas retained the Sheriff's office in the run off by a similar percentage as in the primary. I would think most folks in any nearby county would bristle at the suggestion of an out of county sheriff in the political process. Lowe was the subject of a Federal complaint to the Justice Department in his tactics of intimidating voters before and after the Primary. One of Lowe's neighbors even alleged the former Sheriff planted marijuana and trespassed numerous times on his mostly Clarke County property.
The reins of police power are seldom let go willingly in any Georgia county. The office of Sheriff still wields a mighty clout especially in the more rural areas around the state. Some jurisdictions are run like fiefdoms, while others are most cooperative with the adjoining areas. We are blessed to have some of the best, if not totally different, kind of lawmen around Athens and Oconee County. I am always surprised at the number of law enforcement officers that live in Oconee County and work for the Georgia State Patrol, the Walton County, Snellville, Monroe, or other jurisdictions nearby.
I hope whatever transpired between a prisoner not getting from Danielsville to Watkinsville will not repeat and Sheriffs Berry and Thomas need to sit down and figure out what is best for both counties to get along for the State of Georgia and cut out the bullshit in the media. There are more important things to do than quibble about who should have called whom and get the people in jail where they need to be in jail.
Sorry I respect you both, the offices, and the governments, and know we can do better together as opposed to apart. I will get off my soap box now. May Madison County continue to have the best law enforcement possible as I know Oconee County already has and will in the future. May the municipalities work well with the Sheriffs in knowing what is going on in all areas, and may no prisoners escape nor law enforcement officials be lost in the line of duty. We need to heal folks.
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