A public safety disconnect among Liberty County voters

Only one race on the Nov. 5 ballot – the sheriff’s race – specifically involves public safety. But when The Current asked Liberty County residents about public safety and the election, not one mentioned the county sheriff’s race.

Most residents The Current spoke with said they thought law enforcement, particularly the police, was doing a good job — maybe not perfect, but not bad. But none mentioned either candidate running for Liberty County Sheriff.

A sheriff’s duties

In Liberty County, the sheriff’s office is a completely separate entity from any local police department. The sheriff is elected by all county voters and has the power to enforce laws both in unincorporated areas that don’t have a police force and within city limits. The Georgia Constitution gives sheriffs arrest powers and assigns duties like serving court papers, maintaining a secure courthouse and jail, keeping records of court-ordered sales, and safeguarding elections, among others.

The candidates

Democratic incumbent Will Bowman faces Republican candidate and LCSO Deputy Gary Eason.

Bowman, a former drill sergeant twice honored as Georgia State Trooper of the Year, drew national scrutiny after LCSO deputies pulled over a busload of women athletes from Delaware State University , resulting in a federal consent decree . Bowman also took heat for spending some funds from school zone speeding camera fines on student uniforms, athletic equipment, and a $20,000 donation for Bradwell Institute’s band trip to Washington, D.C. The Board of Commissioners took over the account and forced Bowman to seek approval before purchases . Bowman has bristled at that criticism, taking it as an attack on his honor.

Eason, an LCSO lieutenant who serves under Bowman, is closely aligned with other Republicans in the county, as well as with opponents of Bowman who ran on the Democratic ticket in the primary. Eason, who criticized some of Bowman’s expenditures, particularly a branded golf cart, suggested “the people” investigate the matter: ““If he comes out clean, he comes out clean. I ain’t gonna throw no mud on him. And you know, I’ve known him for years, but some things is right, some things is wrong.”

Both men make a point of involving themselves in community activities. After Hurricane Debby flooded out Flemington for days after the storm, both Eason and a large contingent of LCSO personnel took part in checking on rural residents and delivering cleanup kits.

Is crime up or down?

The answer isn’t simple. A look at Liberty County’s crime statistics filed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation , which includes all reported crimes in the county and municipalities, shows most types of crimes have dropped during Bowman’s term. However, that drop is part of a larger pattern and not specific to Liberty County alone.

Complicating matters, the Justice Department changed the way that law enforcement agencies report crime numbers in 2021. That year, many agencies across the country, including those in Liberty County, did not report crime statistics. The Federal Bureau of Investigation explained that the new system might give the appearance of higher crime numbers but that “the perception of increase” comes from collecting more detailed information.

That means crime statistics alone don’t show how effective a given law enforcement agency or sheriff is at stopping crime.

The Sikes dynasty

For nearly three-quarters of a century, the Sikes family controlled the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department. Paul Sikes was sheriff from 1937 to 1959, according to an oral history of Bobby and Steve Sikes housed at Georgia Southern University. Paul Sikes died of a heart attack and, according to his son, R.V. “Bobby” Sikes , the Board of Commissioners “first appointed one of their own. Then the people didn’t like that very much, and they asked for an election, we had an election, and I was elected.” In the 1960s, Bill Phillips was sheriff for about 6 years while Bobby Sikes “pursued other interests” (he had an oil distribution business). When Phillips died, Bobby Sikes ran again and returned to office. J. Don Martin served 18 years as sheriff (his wife, Polly, was acting sheriff after Martin died until Steve Sikes was elected in 2010. In the oral history, Steve Sikes said, “It takes a person of character to be a sheriff of a county. It’s a very powerful position, and in the wrong hands, it could be a detriment to the whole citizenship of the county.”

Bowman ran against Steve Sikes in the 2016 Democratic primary and unsuccessfully challenged the results in court, alleging the Sikes campaign had edged him out of the runoff through a combination of pollworker intimidation and about 200 absentee ballots that only contained votes for Sikes. Sikes got 2,506 votes, or 50.95 percent. In Georgia, a primary candidate who wins 50 percent plus 1 vote wins outright. In 2020, Bowman beat Steve Sikes in the general primary to become Liberty County’s first Black sheriff.

Some candidates who ran against Bowman have said they want a return to Steve Sikes’ way of doing things, complaining that Bowman has either fired or driven off deputies. Kevin Hofkin has said that department morale is low, while Gary Richardson cited a need for “new leadership and a new philosophy,” and the need to “create a less hostile environment” at the jail.

Bowman has made it clear he’s not part of the old guard and that he isn’t for “‘doing it the way we always did it.’ I’m not that type of guy. If you’re looking for that type of guy, then you need to get with the other guy that’s running for sheriff. I’m not that guy. I can think on my own.”

Bowman also said, “You cannot change people’s minds in three years. If you are used to doing something one way, and somebody else comes in and tries to change it for you, you’re gonna have resistance.”

Voters say little about hotly contested race

As for the election, few people got into specifics, whether that was about candidates or issues at the county level or about the Presidential race.

Army Staff Sgt. Darius Lee said he thinks Liberty County is “pretty safe. First responders seem to get there pretty fast.” But he thinks officials could work on improving traffic congestion.

A woman who identified herself as “Redbone” Jones said, “I think they [law enforcement] are doing an awesome job.” As far as the election, she called for “Honesty, fair and square.”

Gertrude Allen noted a shooting that had happened early that morning: “Before, I felt safe, and now, you know, you have to be watching over your shoulders….Maybe we need to do something about it.” Asked about the election, Allen said officials need to provide more activities, like line dancing or jazz concerts, for senior citizens: “Bingo to me is not enough….it’s like the teenagers. I’m wondering, what do they do for entertainment in Hinesville, you know? We are recycled teenagers.”

Boston transplant Tony Pella ’s biggest concern was traffic enforcement: “The police department I’ve seen is doing pretty good, ya know?…You have a problem, you call them, they come over fast.”

Richard Fordham said, “It’s a lot better than a lot of places. I used to live in Savannah. No comparison.” He had no concerns about public safety as far as the election was concerned.

Horace Oliver said the police and the community need to get to know each other better. “I think if everybody do the election fairly, I think everything’ll be fine. You know, without, you know, Democrat or Republican, we are yet Americans. So I think if we all work together, regardless of your differences or my differences, my choice is my choice, your choice is your choice, but we ought to respect each other’s choices and let it be.”

Denise Green said Hinesville has “its fair share of crime, but for the most part, it’s OK. As far as the elections though, I haven’t seen any disturbances, so I guess we good.”

Janie Fields said she mostly stays at home with her alarm on: “I don’t go anywhere, so to me, before dark thirty, I’m home.”

Frank Scott says the police mainly do a good job, although he’s had to call several times to “deal with stalking.” He doesn’t trust elected officials peddling “false hope,” that he’s not worried about the election, and that Trump would win because “Trump’s daddy was like, you know, a high dude,” adding, “All of a sudden they be putting Joe Biden in there. They ain’t know who he is, you don’t know if he’s sleep or woke.” He also questioned “why we didn’t get no hurricane back-up money.”

Local politics

The answers come amid a climate of election disinformation being spread at the county level, and hint at a disconnect between voters and the issues and candidates that they will choose on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Political consultant Sabrina Newby said there are a couple of reasons why that might be.

“I think that we have come too far, and we’re asking for things to be done,” Newby said. “However, we’re not doing our part locally, and that part is, we should be just as invested, just as territorial, with our local election as we are with our national election.”

Small-town politics can get uncomfortable when you’re likely to run into a candidate or their relative or a member of their campaign at church or the grocery store.

“What they see that’s happened over the years has been, you know, ‘oh, this is my friend that I’ve known for X amount of years,’” she explained. Instead, many local voters see elected officials’ role as transactional: “helping their friend.”

That makes local politics ripe for favoritism (giving unqualified people preference over qualified people), cronyism (favors for friends), and nepotism (favors for relatives).

“I think it comes down to what they have experienced in the past in regards to governance versus what’s supposed to actually take place,” Newby said.