Sheriff James Campbell seeks re-election

JAMES CAMPBELL

Cherokee County Sheriff James Campbell has announced his intentions to file for re-election. Campbell, has been sheriff since February 1994 when he was appointed to replace Sheriff Jimmy Dickson, who resigned to accept a position with the Southwest Cattle Raisers Association. Sheriff Campbell has been re-elected for each term since then.

Sheriff Campbell has 41 years experience in law enforcement, serving 28 years as a state trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety and more than 13 years as Cherokee County Sheriff. Sheriff Campbell says it has been a privilege to serve the citizens of this county as their Sheriff and feels fortunate to have a staff of men and women who are dedicated to serve and protect the citizens of Cherokee County.

Sheriff Campbell holds a Master Peace Officer's License and is a member of the Sheriff's Association of Texas. He and his wife, Marilyn, have been married 41 years and have two adult children and three grandchildren. He formerly served as Rusk school board trustee and held the position of president for 12 years. He is a longtime member of the Rusk Lions Club, the Rusk Volunteer Fire Department, currently serves as vice-president of the board for the Southern Cherokee Federal Credit Union. Sheriff Campbell is an active member and deacon of the First Baptist Church in Rusk.

The Cherokee County Sheriff 's Office has been very active in drug enforcement since he has been sheriff. There have been hundreds of drug cases filed and drug peddlers jailed for illegal drug activity in Cherokee County.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs and cash as well as other property have been seized as a result of their drug enforcement. An additional drug officer has just recently been added to the staff to increase production in drug arrests. Illegal drugs are a plague to this county as well as all others and Sheriff Campbell feels every effort must be made to stop as much of this activity as possible. This work as well as the DARE program provided to all county school children is just one of the sheriff 's commitments to county citizens.

Sheriff Campbell applied for and received thousands of dollars in state and federal grants to offset some of the costs of equipment and manpower that the taxpayers provide for this agency. The use of these grants and watching tax dollars closely helps the sheriff's office to serve the citizens better and to come in under budget. Every call received from the public and every case investigated is important to the sheriff's office because it is important to county citizens. Since taking office, the sheriff has added officer positions as well as investigators, communication officers, and correctional officers to better serve citizens. The sheriff said the population of Cherokee County is growing and the sheriff's office must grow also to provide the needs of county citizens.

There have been 87 beds added to the jail. The county is currently renting out bed space of 10-20 prisoners to the City of Tyler. This helps offset the cost and operation of the jail for the local taxpayers.

The Sheriff said, "When

became Sheriff almost 14 years ago, I promised to keep the safety and protection of the citizens of Cherokee County at the forefront as well as maintain a high level of integrity for the sheriff 's department. With the help of dedicated employees, local citizens and the commissioners court I plan to continue to keep this promise." Sheriff Campbell will pay his filing fee as soon as the Republican Party Chairman begins accepting applications and filing fees.