Photo: AFP
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's race is in our Election Spotlight this morning with the incumbent Democrat Sheriff Ric Bradshaw seeking a sixth term.
He's already the longest-serving sheriff in Palm Beach County.
"The reason that I want to get reelected again is my focus is always on the safety of you and your family. And we're doing a lot of good things with our programs that we're enhancing that help us keep you safe...like our community policing effort, we've taken it to a different level. It's the best there is in this county."
Bradshaw says there is more to do with that program and others that he's implemented.
He faces a challenge from Republican Michael Gauger, who was Bradshaw's longtime Chief Deputy at PBSO. Gauger has not made himself available to us for an interview after repeated attempts both in the lead up to the primary and the general election. He has said he retired after 49 years in law enforcement because he was concerned about the way Bradshaw was running the agency.
The incumbent cites his experience as the leader of the Sheriff's Office for 20 years and his time prior to that as the West Palm Beach police chief for why he should have your vote. Bradshaw says Gauger would be learning on the job.
"My opponent will say 'Well, I was the number 2 guy.' Not really. He was not a true number 2 guy. All the important things in this agency reported to me directly."
He cites the budget, Internal Affairs, attorneys, the media and other things he said reported directly to him while Gauger worked for the agency.