WILCOX COUNTY, Ga. — People in Wilcox County will elect a new sheriff in a special election after Sheriff Robert Rodgers tragically died in a wreck on the job in August.
Now, four candidates are running for the seat: Lloyd Bloodworth, Bruce Carmichael, Lee Ramirez, and Jeffery Wessel.
13WMAZ asked each candidate the following questions:
Question: Why should people vote for you over the other candidates?
"I believe I'm, have the most thorough training out of all the other candidates and I've been doing it like I said, almost 20 years consecutively. And I also am a certified instructor through the state of Georgia, through P.O.S.T. which is the Peace Officer Standards and Training Council," Ramirez said.
"I feel that I have experience as a leader in the community. I work with the sheriff's department here for about ten years during the 80's. And then I went to work with Georgia Farm Bureau," Bloodworth said.
"My years of experience with the Georgia Department of Corrections and then adding to that, the 25 years that I've been assigned to the U.S. Marshalls Fugitive Task Force, has brought me a lot of opportunity and training," Wessel said.
"Well, I've been a part of this community my whole life. I've worked in the sheriff's office for over ten years. I know the ins and outs of this sheriff's office, and I believe I'm the best candidate for the job," Carmichael said.
Question: What's the biggest issue you want to tackle as sheriff?
"The staffing is a problem here in the county right now because we just don't have any help. I mean, it's ridiculous as far as the land mass and the population that Wilcox County has, and you only have one deputy working at night, sometimes two," Ramirez said.
"Getting manpower. If I'm not mistaken right now they only have three deputies full time. And we have spots if I'm not mistaken for nine. So they're running on about a third capacity," Bloodworth said.
"Serving the public. The citizens of Wilcox County and addressing the needs that they feel need to be, need to be addressed. And of course, you know one of the biggest topics surrounding it you know, we're not alone in that, is the you know, battle against drug and the drug addiction," Wessel said.
"Mostly you gotta get the drugs off the street. In this county, we have a pretty bad drug problem right now. We gotta get that off the street and we gotta get more involved with the community, and with the kids in this, in this county," Carmichael said.
For the full interview with each candidate, where they answer additional questions, watch the video below.