Current county coroner worked in law enforcement for 18 years
James “Junior” Jackson, who held various positions in the Oglethorpe County Sheriff’s Office from 2005 to earlier this year, will run for sheriff in 2024.
Jackson announced his candidacy with an ad in this week’s edition of The Oglethorpe Echo. He currently is the county coroner.
“It’s been over a year that the thought has been in my head,” Jackson said Tuesday morning. “I had even been approached by some citizens a while back about running. After I left (the Sheriff’s Office), I was thinking, I don’t know if anybody else is going to run for sheriff, so some things have got to change, so I’m going to go ahead and run.”
Sheriff David Gabriel was elected in 2016 and reelected in 2020, when he defeated challenger Don Waldroup with 55% of the vote.
Gabriel didn’t return a phone call and a text message before The Echo’s deadline.
Sheriff is one of several county-wide positions in this year’s general primary, which is scheduled for May 21.
Those include magistrate judge, probate judge, chairman of the board of commissioners, tax commissioner, coroner and clerk of superior court. Also, representatives from Districts 1, 2 and 4 of the board of education and from Districts 2 and 4 of the board of commissioners will be decided this year, according to the Oglethorpe County Board of Elections.
Teresa Jo Campbell and Dawn Johnson Scarborough plan to run for tax commissioner to replace Sheila Arnold, who has said she will retire at the end of her term on Dec. 31, 2024.
Campbell is currently the clerk for the Oglethorpe County Probate Court, and Johnson Scarborough is a supervisor with emergency medical services.
Qualifying for the offices will be held from 9 a.m. Monday, March 4 to noon on Friday, March 8 at the board of elections office on Fairground Road.
Jackson, a native of Oglethorpe County, held several positions with the Sheriff’s Office, including patrol deputy, reserve deputy, investigator, sergeant and captain, and was the 911 director when he resigned from that position in September. His wife, Angela, was promoted to replace him as 911 director.
He said his main concerns are how the jail is being used, felony and misdemeanor warrants not being served and the heavy emphasis on traffic enforcement in the county, including the new school zone cameras.
“The big focus on traffic citations as opposed to running their calls, serving civil papers, getting out in the neighborhoods and being seen, and checking neighborhoods and businesses, that’s kind of gone by the wayside,” Jackson said.
He said he plans to be visible in the county throughout his campaign, hold meet and greet events and get “my message out to the public.”
“Once I resigned, I realized this is as good a time as there is, so I made the decision to go ahead and announce,” Jackson said.