WAYNE Ƶ Republican Eddie Bradshaw defeated his opponent in the race for Wayne County sheriff, according to unofficial results released Tuesday night.
Bradshaw, who is retired from the Huntington Police Department, received 10,975 votes (73.69% of the 14,893 total votes cast), while his opponent Steve Carey, a Democrat who is self-employed as a Wayne County business owner, received 3,904 votes (26.21%).
ƵIƵm excited to work for the citizens of Wayne County and the men and women of (the) Wayne County SheriffƵs Department and the tax office,Ƶ Bradshaw told HD Media in an interview following the election.
Bradshaw said he has more than 30 years of experience in law enforcement. He looks forward to continuing his service in the county he and his children have grown up in, he said.
In his response to a pre-election questionnaire, Bradshaw said he believes the most pressing issues in law enforcement in Wayne County are drugs and property crimes, and he would address those issues through the SheriffƵs Office continuing its partnership with the Federal Drug Task Force; seeking to secure federal funding to support efforts to combat the drug epidemic; and conducting quarterly meetings throughout the county to provide an outlet for residents to voice concerns and to receive education.
ƵA few ideas that could be considered if funding could be secured would be the creation of a website and tip line for anonymous reporting of drug-related activity, School Resource Officers providing Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) in our countyƵs school system and the creation of a dedicated K-9 unit,Ƶ Bradshaw said in his response to the questionnaire.
He also said in his response that the SheriffƵs Office would collaborate with the Wayne County Commission to develop an internal committee for the recruitment and retention of personnel.
ƵA few recruitment ideas that could be considered would be the creation of a ride-along program for students from the local school system interested in law enforcement, attending career fairs at educational institutions at the local, state and tri-state regions, and the development of a marketing strategy that promotes the department,Ƶ he said.
ƵA few retention ideas that would be considered is the continued support for competitive pay compared to surrounding agencies, developing a signing bonus program in exchange for a committed employment term, supporting post-secondary education through tuition assistance programs, and the allocation of financial resources for specialized training and mental health awareness programs,Ƶ he said.
During the interview following the election, Bradshaw emphasized his goal of conducting quarterly meetings in the county with citizens and said another thing he wants to do initially is to select an investigator out of the Wayne County SheriffƵs DepartmentƵs current deputies to Ƶinvestigate major crimes.Ƶ
ƵI will work as hard for you as ... I work for anyone,Ƶ he said. ƵWe will basically have an open door policy for our citizens.Ƶ
Canvassing in Wayne County is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 12.
Jesten Richardson is a reporter and can be reached at jrichardson@hdmediallc.com and found on X (formerly Twitter) at @JRichardsonHD.
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