By Shelly Kirchner
Correspondent
The race for Rhea County sheriff is under way with incumbent Mike Neal and challenger Mike Sneed headed for the county primaries.
Sheriff Neal, a Democrat, was elected in 2002, replacing retiring Sheriff Leon Sneed. Mike Sneed, the former sheriff’s son, seeks the Republican nomination.
In the May 4 primaries, both candidates are running unopposed in their parties.
Sheriff Neal and Mr. Sneed have been certified by the Rhea County Election Commission and the Peace Officer Standard Training Commission, but they may meet up with another challenger in the August general election, according to Rhea County Administrator of Elections Theresa Snyder.
Jerry L. Lawrence, an independent, also has filed qualifying papers. A U.S. Army veteran with 23 years of experience in law enforcement, he said he plans to begin his campaign while the Election Commission awaits approval for his candidacy from the Peace Officer Standard Training Commission.
For his campaign, Sheriff Neal said he wants to continue what he has started.
“I made campaign promises before I was elected in 2002, and I have kept them,” he said. “I want to continue the hard work I’ve done improving law enforcement in our community.”
Some of the accomplishments he points to include a new satellite sheriff’s office in Spring City and a firing range at the training center in Evensville, both at no expense to taxpayers.
He also created a Homeland Security Team consisting of volunteers and reserve officers trained to respond to emergency situations such as weather-related flooding or nuclear plant emergencies.
The Senior Citizens Awareness Network was implemented shortly after Sheriff Neal took office and now has 33 volunteers that check on 140 seniors in the community every week.
“I think the SCAN program is the greatest program that Rhea County has ever seen,” said Kathleen Garrison, a volunteer for the program and chairwoman of the Rhea County Democratic Party. “Mike Neal is a very good sheriff, and I would like to see his good work continue.”
A lifelong resident of Rhea County, Mike Sneed has had 20 years of law enforcement experience, graduating from the Chattanooga Police Academy as a patrol officer, then serving 14 years as a detective and now a lieutenant over investigations, community and internal affairs in the Soddy-Daisy Police Department.
“I believe Mike Sneed would make an excellent sheriff. He has the training and experience that is needed to protect and serve our county,” Rhea County Republican Chairman Marvin Keener said.
“We need to get the sheriff’s department back to fighting drugs in Rhea County with undercover operations,” Mike Sneed said. “We need to go back to our neighborhoods aggressively enforcing DUI and drug laws, protect from burglary and theft.”
He also said he wants to get control of spending and focus on crime.
ELECTION DATES* May 4 — County primaries* Aug. 5 — State primaries* Nov. 2 — State general electionSource: Tennessee Election Commission
“The previous administration (Mike Sneed’s father) operated the sheriff’s department on a $1.4 million budget,” he said. “Just seven years later, the current administration has a $3.2 million budget.”
Although he acknowledges that he raised salaries for his employees and brought in six new employees since taking over in 2002, Sheriff Neal said his budget also has risen because the county added the cost of health and life insurance costs to it, which weren’t included in the budgets of former Sheriff Sneed.
County Finance Director Billy Graham said that, with health and life insurance removed, the sheriff’s 2009-10 budget was about $2.7 million, a figure that included money for the sheriff’s department, the county jail, juvenile services and the sex offender registry.