The general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5. In preparation for the election, the EAGLE reached out to all candidates for Lafayette County Supervisor positions, as well as the two candidates for Sheriff of Lafayette County. Candidates for Sheriff were asked to answer three questions.

Below are responses from Lafayette County Sheriff Candidates Jeff South (R) and Joey East (D)

1. What difference do you want to make in the lives of Lafayette County residents, if elected?

South: If elected as your next Sheriff, I want to make a positive difference in the lives of every resident of Lafayette County. I feel that there are many changes that need to be made in the Sheriff’s Department. The citizens deserve a better–equipped Sheriff’s Department, they deserve faster response times; they deserve to have Deputies that are better trained to handle incidents.  

East: There is so much more to being the Sheriff than making arrests and writing tickets. You will get to be the role model for hundreds of young people and have the ability to help so many people day to day in a positive way. You get to lead some of the most amazing men and women starting their careers out in law enforcement and put them on the right path to becoming a professional who cares about their community. I met so many people that told stories of how my Daddy helped them when he was sheriff in a non-law enforcement encounter. I want to be able to help my community, for them to feel like they have someone in their corner, someone to come talk to. It doesn’t matter if I can solve their problem or not, sometimes you just need to be able to talk to someone and know that they care about you and your situation. It all comes down to you have to know, care and love your community. That’s exactly why I am running.  

2. As Sheriff, what are some programs you’d like to implement in Lafayette County?

South: As Sheriff, there are many policies and programs that I would like to see implemented. I would start by implementing a body–worn camera policy. This policy would protect the residents, the deputies as well as the county. I would also like to implement a reserve division within the Sheriff’s Department. This would help put more officers on the street for better protection of our residents. 

East: There are literally hundreds of community outreach programs we can implement: Donuts with Deputies, Worship Watch Program, Adopt-a-Senior, See Something Say Something, etc. But for me, we need to immediately do two things: 1. Implement ways to communicate more efficiently with our community such as social media outlets. 2. We have to look inside the department to see what our needs are; staffing, deployment of staff, organizational structure, identify and implement long term facility needs. We have to prepare for the future, educate the community and our county government on our needs to better serve our community. It’s about keeping our community safe and preparing for our future. 

3. What is one fact about yourself that you’d like to share with the undecided voter?

South: One fact that I would like to share is my belief in continued training and education. Our world is constantly changing, and our deputies need to be better trained and educated in order to serve our residents more efficiently. I may not be a lifelong resident of Lafayette County, but I am a vested member of this county and only want the best for the residents in our community. 

East: That I have four kids, one wife, five dogs, a sister, a mother, a step-mother, two stepbrothers, a stepsister and a whole lot of cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles. I am a Pittsburgh Steelers and a New York Yankees fan. I love fried chicken, mashed potatoes biscuits and gravy. I am just like everyone else, and I need your vote.