Four candidates vying to become Bedford County’s first new sheriff in nearly a quarter-century outlined their visions for the office May 8 at a candidate forum.
The slate of candidates, which includes three Republicans and two independents, all have deep ties to the sheriff’s office. They are:
* Mike Miller, a Bedford County Sheriff’s Office captain.
* Kent Robey, a retired special agent with the Federal Air Marshal Service and a former Bedford County Sheriff’s Officecaptain.
* David Wells, a former Roanoke County police officer and the son of retired Bedford County Sheriff Carl Wells.
* Tim Hayden, a Bedford County Sheriff’s Office captain.
* James Kirkland, a Bedford County Sheriff’s Office K-9 handler.
People are also reading…
Miller, Robey and Wells are competing for the Republican nod in the GOP primary, which will be held June 11. Hayden and Kirkland are both running as independents in the Nov. 5 general election; Kirkland did not participate in the forum.
The candidates are hoping to replace incumbent Sheriff Mike Brown, whose decision not to run again for reelection teed up this year’s contest. Brown will retire on Dec. 31 after six terms in office.
Each candidate was given about eight minutes to describe his platform at the May 8 forum, which was held at Oakland United Methodist Church and attended by about 30 people.
In his remarks, Miller touted a five-year plan to expand the sheriff’s office, the centerpiece of which includes hiring more deputies and increasing pay. He cited recent increases in call volume and ballooning urban areas as reasons to grow the department.
“Right now ladies and gentlemen, you may not know this, our population is getting ready to exceed 80,000,” he said.
Miller, like the other two Republican candidates, said his plan requires no new tax increases and can be accomplished by reallocating department resources. He also pledged to keep crime rates low and to continue to work with community leaders as sheriff.
The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office is the primary local law enforcement agency for much of the county. The department is responsible for responding to 911 calls, patrolling county roads and investigating criminal offenses. It also provides courthouse security and is charged with protecting county schools.
Much of the discussion May 8 focused on school safety. The office currently employs five school resource officers who frequently travel between the county’s 19 public schools.
Robey pledged to prioritize school safety as sheriff. He said he hoped to secure state and federal grant funding to hire new SROs and to eventually staff each school with a dedicated SRO, which may take years. In the meantime, he said, he wants deputies to spend more time at individual schools.
“I want law enforcement in and out of those buildings until I can get SROs in place,” he said.
Wells has similarly proposed expanding patrol routes to include county schools.
Miller and Hayden both highlighted work the sheriff’s office has done in recent years to increase school security. Hayden, who now oversees the department’s SRO program, said the office’s use of technology — including a relatively new network of surveillance cameras — has made the county schools some “of the safest places around here.”
“We’re doing things on a daily basis to keep our kids and the staff in the schools safe,” he said.
Hayden said that work would largely continue if he is elected sheriff in the fall. He also promised to run a transparent sheriff’s office and to regularly hold open houses to hear from locals.
All of the candidates discussed the importance of community policing.
Robey said he plans to hire a department liaison, who will personally coordinate with the county’s pastors and farmers to better learn about the challenges they face. Miller and Hayden both said they will continue and expand ongoing community initiatives.
For Wells, community policing means training deputies to build personal relationships with the individuals they serve.
“True community policing is about getting out of the car and getting into the community,” he said. “You can’t just stop in once in a while, you have to go on a regular basis.”
His approach is just one part of his overarching campaign message: focus on the core function of law enforcement. He also wants to increase the number of deputies on patrol and encourage economic development in the county by keeping crime low.
Miller currently leads the pack in fundraising. The 55-year-old veteran deputy has raised nearly $10,000 since the start of the year, according to first quarter campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia Department of Elections. Robey has raised $4,500 and Wells has raised more than $2,000, largely through a personal contribution from himself to his campaign.
Hayden and Kirkland, the two independents, have raised a few hundred dollars each, campaign finance records show.
