BEDFORD, Va. – Tuesday Bedford County voters will vote for a new sheriff. Mike Brown announced he’s retiring at the end of the year.
Candidates voters will see on the ballot are:
Mike Miller has been with Bedford Sheriff's Office for 34 years. He started as a jail deputy and worked his way up to captain over operations.
“I will promise to be a very open-door sheriff. If you have a concern, I want to hear about it,” Miller, running as a Republican, said.
Then there’s Tim Hayden. He's captain over community services after starting out as a road deputy 34 years ago.
“I’m running as independent. I’m strong on the Second Amendment. I’m going to be fair,” Hayden, running as an independent, said.
Deputy James Kirkland is also in the running.
He's has 19 years with the Sheriff’s Office. He's the commander of the tactical response team and works with the K-9 unit.
“I’m out here with them. I lead from the front. I don’t ask people on my team or that I work without here to do something I wouldn’t do myself,” Kirkland, running as an independent, said.
The candidates said they want to see more deputies on the road and pay increases.
“We got inmate trash pickup details that we used to pay officers with. We can convert some of that over there to study it and see the best way to use it to get some coverage on the north side and south side,” Hayden said.
“I want to take some administrative positions and convert those into deputy positions,” Kirkland said.
School safety, keeping crime low in the county and drugs off the streets are also on their agenda.
“The first thing we’re also going to start on is, I’d like to see 20 more neighborhood watches,” Miller said.
If elected, all men say, they will not only be a leader in the Sheriff's Office but also for all Bedford County citizens.
Other localities like Campbell and Appomattox counties will elect a new sheriff too. The candidates running are:
Whit Clark, Terry Cook and Dwayne Wade are all running as independents in Campbell County.
Donald Simpson and Chris Sams are also running as independents in Appomattox.