The merits, and potential drawbacks, of longevity have been thrown into high relief by this year’s race for the office Alamance County’s sheriff.
At the moment, a three-way contest is underway for the GOP’s nomination to this position, which has been the province of the 75-year-old incumbent Terry Johnson since 2002. Although Johnson has had no previous challengers from within his own party, his current bid for a seventh consecutive term has ignited rival campaigns from two newcomers to electoral politics.
One of the party’s aspiring nominees is Billy Clayton, a 58-year-old retired state trooper who once served as the second-in-command of the N.C. Highway Patrol. Meanwhile, Dana Byrd Pasour, a 54-year-old former medical sales representative, has thrown her hat into the ring despite her lack of professional experience in law enforcement.
The relative appeal of these three office seekers will ultimately be put to the test when the Republican primary takes place on March 3. The winner of this contest will go on to an easy victory in this fall’s general election – barring a potential challenge from former Orange County deputy Shannon Long, who is currently collecting signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent contender for sheriff.
As a service to voters in the GOP’s primary, The Alamance News has circulated an issues questionnaire among the party’s three would-be nominees. In addressing the newspaper’s inquiries, each candidate has made the most of his or her background – with Johnson touting his 23 years of experience as the top-ranking law enforcement officer in Alamance County. Clayton has, likewise, revealed his familiarity with the basic issues in law enforcement, while stressing the fresh knowledge and insights he’d bring to the position of sheriff. In the meantime, Pasour has made a virtue of her “civilian” background to argue that she, too, has the chops to lead the local sheriff’s office.
Pasour has been particularly emphatic that her dearth of law enforcement experience is no reason for voters to discount her as a serious candidate.
“With a background in science, I have an investigative mindset,” she goes on to assert in response to one of the newspaper’s questions. “With my business background, I have an eye for the bottom line.”
[Story continues below sidebar on the sheriff candidates’ top priorities.]
CANDIDATES’ TOP PRIORITIES
During the next four years, what would be your top priorities as sheriff? [50 word limit]
BILLY CLAYTON: 1. Investing in deputies with better training, leadership development, and career pathways. 2. Raising standards through accreditation so our Sheriff’s Office operates at the highest level in North Carolina. 3. Modernizing technology and strengthening multi-agency partnerships to tackle gangs, drugs, and violent crime more effectively. 4. Improving detention center operation.
TERRY S. JOHNSON: Continue crime reduction, Continue to strengthen school security, Attain competitive salaries for employees, Continue work on clearing gangs and drug dealers, Continue to lead with honor, professionalism, and integrity.
DANA BYRD PASOUR: Investigating all crimes against women and children, in spite of what we are told. Training my employees on stalking and actually investigating it. Stalking is a gateway crime to more violent behavior. Domestic violence, stalking, rape, pedophiles – my main focus.
It may go without saying that Pasour’s outsider status has given her a different perspective on many of the issues that the newspaper has touched on it in its questionnaire.
Pasour, alone of the three candidates, contends that the sheriff’s office is properly funded by the county and that the agency offers sufficient compensation to attract the best and the brightest into its ranks.
Johnson, for his part, sees room for improvement on both counts, holding the county’s board of commissioners responsible for any deficits. Clayton, meanwhile, pleads ignorance on the adequacy of the county’s financial support, and he focuses on factors other than wages as potential enticements to new personnel.
“In addition to salary,” he elaborated, “[the sheriff’s office should] create a benefit package that includes longevity, flexible time off, and possibly offer alternative work schedules to help employees balance work and home life.”
Pasour also provides a contrasting viewpoint when asked about the possible legalization of medical marijuana. Whereas Johnson decried pot as a “gateway drug” and Clayton noted its tendency to impair judgment and motor skills, Pasour conceded that she has a more lenient outlook due to her late husband’s struggles with terminal cancer. Pasour added that “medical professionals” actually advised her husband to give cannabis a try “when his cause [became] hopeless.”
“He declined,” she admitted, “but suppose he’d wanted to try it: I’d have had to risk getting arrested for him to try it.”
Pasour’s inexperience nevertheless puts her at a disadvantage in other policy areas. She admitted, for example, that she doesn’t know enough to weigh in on need for sheriff’s substations in outlying parts of the county. Clayton insisted that the sheriff should have satellite offices in both the northern and southern parts of the county. Johnson, meanwhile, pointed to an existing substation in the town of Green Level, and he alluded to ongoing discussions with the Village of Alamance about a more southerly outpost.
Pasour also acknowledged her ignorance of crime caused by illegal immigrants in Alamance County. Johnson insisted that undocumented aliens are a “major” factor in the illicit drug trade, and he went on to contend that Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and the Venezuelan street gang Tren de Aragua have set up shop in the northern part of the county. Clayton, on the other hand, found no smoking gun in the actual crime stats to implicate illegal immigrants.
“With any evidence-based policing,” he argued, “data needs to be looked at, [and] there is no data that supports either position.”
[Story continues below sidebar about what’s misunderstood about sheriff candidates or their campaigns.]
WHAT’S MISUNDERSTOOD ABOUT YOU/YOUR CAMPAIGN?
What issue(s) do you believe are most misunderstood or misrepresented about you, your campaign platform, or record? [75 word limit]
BILLY CLAYTON: The issues have been whether I am a true Republican and whether I am qualified. I’ve been a Republican since 2014, long before running for Sheriff. Many leaders have changed their parties over the years just to run for a particular office; I did not do that. The party doesn’t define the person, your character should. I think I am more than qualified, just go to my website to view my qualifications.
TERRY S. JOHNSON: I am not too old for this position! 2. The issue of body cameras has been completely and falsely misrepresented. The availability of grants has been reviewed but grants were found to be woefully inadequate to provide complete funding. Additionally, many grants require sole source purchasing which would not be consistent with our current IT infrastructure.
DANA BYRD PASOUR: [NO RESPONSE.]
Pasour glossed over a number of other questions that delved into issues like “cashless bail” and school safety. Both Clayton and Johnson argued that cashless bail is no longer an issue in Alamance County, and they concurred that the local school system can use some additional school resource officers.
Yet, in the final analysis, Johnson pointed to his 23 years at the helm of the sheriff’s office as proof that he’s exactly where he needs to be, despite the claims of detractors who think he’s too old for the job. Pasour insisted that her election as sheriff would bring a renewed focus to crimes against women and children – which she added are not always investigated “in spite of what we are told.” Meanwhile, Clayton promised to inject a new spirit of professionalism into the sheriff’s office if he wins over voters in the Republican primary.
“I’m offering leadership focused on higher standards, stronger partnerships, and better communication which will enhance public safety and quality of life in Alamance County,” he added. “I bring broad public safety experience, proven leadership, and a clear vision for the future of the sheriff’s office. My focus is results, professionalism, and restoring trust.”
The full text of each candidate’s responses to the newspaper’s questionnaire can be found HERE. Biographical information about the contenders appears here: https://alamancenews.com/meet-the-candidates-for-alamance-county-sheriff-2/
