BLECKLEY COUNTY, Ga. — Voters in Bleckley County went to the polls Tuesday to elect a new sheriff.
The special election was prompted by the previous sheriff, Kris Coody, resigning after pleading guilty to sexual battery charges in August. Coody was accused of groping T.V. Judge Glenda Hatchett in a highly publicized case.
He was sentenced to 12 months probation, 40 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and a psychosexual evaluation, and he was ordered to complete an alcohol and drug course.
Daniel Cape has served as interim sheriff for Bleckley County. He faced off against Chris Smith a student resource officer for the sheriff's office.
Here are the final results of the Bleckley County Sheriff's race:
Daniel Cape: 1,676 (56.7%)
Chris Smith: 1,279 (43.3%)
After his victory, Cape spoke to 13WMAZ and reacted to securing a full term as sheriff.
"Glad to be here, looking forward to the future. Rocking right on. Some of the things I've started on already I get to continue, do even more, and do even bigger and better things," Cape said. "Show the people of Bleckley County they made the right choice by electing me as their sheriff."
Cape said that he learned a lot during the course of the campaign that will stick with him.
"Today, the results showed me a lot. I think campaigning is like a lot of thinks we need to do in life," he said. "I could probably learn and do better every time in the future. I think it's taught me a lot and I'm going to take that valuable lesson to heart."
Before the election, 13WMAZ sat down with Cape to see what he would do if given a full term as sheriff. Here are his answers:
Q: Why do you want to be Sheriff of Bleckley County?
Cape: "I want to be sheriff not so much for me but for the agency, the men and women who work for me, and the men and women of Bleckley County."
Q: What problems do you see in Bleckley County, and what are your plans to fix it?
Cape: "We have established a top ten list and it's ever-changing — we've changed it a couple of times because we had arrested people that are on there. And we do that with complaints that we get, surveillance that we've conducted, investigations that have led to say, 'Hey this person, this area is a problem."
Q: With the Coody situation, how do you plan to continue keeping the office running smoothly?
Cape: "I can speak on since I've been sheriff since Aug. 21, and the office is running smoothly. Everyone's enjoying the job they do and we're going to keep on doing that. And I think I do that by letting them know that I am going to be standing by their side as long as they're doing what's right, I'll be standing by them."
BLECKLEY COUNTY SHERIFF COVERAGE
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