TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. — In Telfair County, two men are running to be the next sheriff: current sheriff Sim Davidson, and former sheriff Chris Steverson.
Davidson is currently on his first term as sheriff, and Steverson was sheriff from 2013 to 2020.
Steverson said he's been a certified police officer for almost 35 years, and his career has taken him overseas to work as a war crimes investigator and police liaison officer.
Davidson said he's been a certified peace officer for 32 years. He retired from working for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and then came to work at the Telfair County Sheriff's Office in 2018.
13WMAZ asked both candidates why they they're running.
"I'm running again to just continue to try to build upon what we've started here in our first term, and continue to make Telfair County the best that it can possibly be," Davidson said.
Steverson said he's focused on the economy.
"I'm running trying to get some relief for the taxpayer. We are very economically depressed in this community. We've lost some industry recently that, that's really impacted us," Steverson said.
We also asked them what their top goals are if they get elected.
"To build upon what we're doing with a strong emphasis on mentoring our youth. That's very important. Taking drugs off the street, dangerous drugs off the street, and guns and weapons and that sort of thing. And keeping our roads safe," Davidson said.
Steverson also said safety is a top goal.
"I want to address crime as it happens. And we wanna be effective as far as deterring crime in the communities. Also managing the jail operations, currently we're paying double what other counties in this area are paying to house inmates," Steverson said.
We also asked them if they plan to make any big changes when elected.
"We have a problem with dangerous dogs and roaming dogs in Telfair County. One of the things I'd like to do is come up with ordinances, county wide ordinances to help deal with those," Davidson said.
Steverson said he wants to emphasize community relationships.
"We'll revert back to community-oriented policing. I want the guys out in the community, making themselves known to the community," Steverson said.
Early voting closes on Friday, May 17 and Primary Day is Tuesday, March 21.
You can watch our extended interview with the candidates for sheriff here.