Name: Lee Foster (incumbent)

Age: 59

Party: Democrat

1. What do you think is the most important skill of being a good Sheriff?

Being able to effectively communicate with people regardless of whether they are a victim, complainant, defendant or someone in need of help. With good communications skills one should have a compassionate understanding of the people you are entrusted to protect. And you should be able to communicate with people outside the scope of employment by interacting with your neighbors, Church members, and people that are out in public and not having a law enforcement issue. Communications builds trust and relationships and that is vital in today’s society.

2. What is biggest need of the Sheriff’s Department now and what would you do to fill that need?

The most important need is to complete the body worn cameras program. We have received grant money from the state to provide roughly half of our officers this technology. However, we have been able to redirect funds to get additional monies from the county to insure all officers that respond to crimes have the cameras. We are implementing this program to make this an excellent seamless program that exceeds the state standards. We are currently awaiting the technological infrastructure to be able to store and retrieve the video evidence. Once that is in place we will have our program in effect.

3. How would you work to keep youths away from illegal narcotics, before it becomes a larger issue?

While we have very active and effective enforcement programs, prevention is the real key to preventing drug abuse. We currently have nationally recognized programs that we participate in with the schools and our Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission. Of course catching drug dealers and taking the drugs off the street before it reaches the consumer is important, but continuing the reduction in demand is critical. Our SRO’s, Community Deputies, and our Narcotics officers participate with the schools, Churches, and civic organizations to educate our youth on the alternatives. We also participate in camps to insure the message is received.

4. What would be your goals as far as community outreach?

We will continue our award winning programs that are presented throughout the year. The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office is nationally recognized in our Safety in the Sanctuary program, our school safety initiatives, and our response to active shooters. We are constantly taking this to the community to educate the citizens in crime prevention techniques. Throughout each year we provide a Citizens’ Sheriffs’ Academy, where people can come learn more and interact with the Sheriff’s Office. As Sheriff I am the primary speaker and representative to hundreds of speaking engagements throughout our county in Churches, schools and civic organizations. I actively participate in community Crime Watch programs. As Sheriff, I continue to look for new and improved ways of keeping the public informed. Finally, we work hard to provide the public with current information on breaking news through our Nixle and social media platforms. We will continue to improve our programs and bring programs to the public that are current and topical.

5. In your opinion, what makes you more qualified for this position than your opponent?

I am well educated from the local schools and the fully accredited University of South Carolina. In addition to my formal education, I have received extensive law enforcement training and am one of the highest trained Sheriff’s in the state. I have a long career of real experience in working major criminal cases. I have extensive experience in leading a Sheriff’s Office that is recognized for our innovation and enforcement efforts. We have maintained one of the lowest crime rates and highest case solving rates in the state. In addition to my leadership, I have extensive experience in the principles of managing an extensive budget that covers the diversifications of a Sheriff’s Office mission. Being Sheriff is much, much more than being a police officer. I have the knowledge and hands on experience of a career primarily working in the same Sheriff’s Office that covers jail, school safety, law enforcement, civil process, and court security. I have actual hands on experience in each one of these areas within this Sheriff’s Office. Most importantly, I was born and raised here and have a unique insightful knowledge of our County. I am committed to this county and that was long before I became Sheriff or decided to run for an office through my long history as a volunteer firefighter and my Church service. I think it is very important to have had the opportunity to be educated here, worship here, have my extended family here and provide service to the very people I share these life experiences. And even though I have served in this office for 28 years plus 10 years as a deputy, I never ever rest on my laurels. I will continue to work hard and look for innovative ways to enforce the law and provide services with compassion.

Name: David P. Beddingfield

Age: 35

Party: Republican

1. What do you think is the most important skill of being a good Sheriff?

The most import skill of a good sheriff is being able to apply a high sense of morality to the position. This means putting the public’s interest before your own. This means doing the right thing even when no one is looking. This means not being fake. This means actually being the person that you have portrayed yourself to be. The sole objective of the sheriff should not be self-preservation, but instead, should focus on the people. This means that the law should be enforced impartially, and the Sheriff should serve everyone without regard to where someone was born, how much someone donated to a campaign, how wealthy someone is, or who does or does not have voting rights. This high sense of morality will absolutely be applied to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Department if I am elected, and I am certain that applying this trait is the most important skill a good sheriff could have.

2. What is biggest need of the Sheriff’s Department now and what would you do to fill that need?

The biggest need for the Sheriff’s Department now is change. The county suffers from a growing drug and gang problem that has created violence on our streets and infested our schools. There are many programs available that could assist with these issues, but they are not being taken advantage of. Many of the people that find themselves getting into trouble once they become a legal adult had behavioral issues as juveniles. In other words, the bad behavior tends to escalate as the person grows older. These are things that we know, but what, if anything, is the Newberry County Sheriff’s Department currently doing to address the concern? The answer is very little and in most cases, nothing. As law enforcement executives, we shouldn’t simply say it is not our problem. We should be trying to find solutions to the problem. There is always something else that can be done, but we have to actually try instead of defending the reasons why we did not try.

3. How would you work to keep youth away from illegal narcotics, before it becomes a larger issue?

The issue is already larger than it should be. The situation has already gotten out of hand and will only continue to get worse unless immediate change is made. We will start by restructuring our school resource program in a manner that increases the interaction with the students while facilitating better parent relationships for troubled youth. The drug/narcotics issue along with the growing gang problem will need to become a top priority. In many cases crime is a vicious circle. The more that drugs flood into the county the more violence we will experience. This also tends to relate to property crime because many addicts tend to get involved in theft as a means of supporting their addiction. We have to go after the source of these drugs. Continuing to arrest the same drug addicts will never do anything to decrease the drugs flowing into the county. We have to go after the source. As Sheriff, we will go after the major dealers and traffickers bringing the drugs into Newberry County, and we will put a stop to it.

4. What would be your goals as far as community outreach?

Community outreach requires sustainable community meetings with relevant information sharing. There are many great law enforcement agencies who are operating excellent community outreach programs. I will apply different portions of those programs in a way that best fits the different communities within Newberry County. The information shared in each community meeting must be relevant to that specific community. This requires preparation and research. We cannot simply go to a community meeting and share information that many already knew or share information that is accessible with a simple web search. It requires a dedicated effort. The focus of outreach programs must always remain on the community. A community outreach program is completely non-effective if the purpose is political gain for the sheriff. We must always remember; the sheriff is to serve the community, not the other way around.

5. In your opinion, what makes you more qualified for this position than your opponent?

I am willing to progress the sheriff’s department and combat the major issues that we are facing in Newberry County. We can talk about the crime rate and crime statistics all we want, but that does nothing to address this ever-growing drug and gang problem. Newberry County is in decline. While the drug and gang problems grow, jobs are leaving and businesses are shutting down. Meanwhile, we have a sheriff who feels that you need to be a life-long resident to become a part of the community or participate in a political process. As the economy diminishes crime will thrive, property value will decrease, and more jobs will leave. The Newberry County Sheriff must be someone who is willing to be honest and not simply say anything to get re-elected. If elected as Sheriff, I will stop this growing gang and drug problem. I will encourage people to visit and move to Newberry County. I will always be open to new ideas. Lastly, I will never make accusations, inferences, or implications against someone without having facts to back them up. There needs to be a change and that change needs to be now.

Beddingfield
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_headshot.jpegBeddingfield

Foster
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/web1_Foster.jpgFoster