BY ROB DAVIS
FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Minutes into the Lee County Republican Club meeting, the candidates for Lee County Sheriff were put to the test. With Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones and challenger Cam Hunt sitting front and center on a stage in front of an overflow crowd in the Lewis Cooper Jr. Auditorium in the Opelika Public Library, club chair and moderator Cole Lawson began the Q&A with a question he described as “the elephant in the room.”
Lawson asked both candidates about when Jones terminated Hunt during a meeting when Hunt announced that he would be running for Lee County Sheriff. Lawson asked if the situation was handled appropriately and how could it have been handled differently.
“When I committed to my decision to run, I scheduled a one-on-one meeting with Sheriff Jones out of professional courtesy,” Hunt said. “I wanted to share my intentions with him before anything was announced or anything was public. He asked me if I would consider waiting until the next term. I considered that, but this is something I feel I’m being called to do now. He asked if I was confident in my decision, and I told him that I was, at which point he said he had no choice but to let me go. The meeting started at 9 a.m., [and] by 9:10 I was walking out of the sheriff’s office to call my wife to tell her that he had fired me. In retrospect, there’s definitely more professional ways that it could have been handled. I could have been offered the ability to resign or I could have been put on a leave of absence.”
Each candidate was allowed two minutes to answer the questions, which were compiled from inquiries presented by members of the Lee County Republican Club.
After a brief pause, Jones responded to the first question put before the candidates.
“There is a unique relationship between the sheriff and the deputy sheriff where the deputy sheriff is the alter ego of the sheriff,” Jones said. “If the sheriff isn’t physically present, that deputy is the sheriff. His decisions are as if the sheriff were standing there. It simply would have been untenable to have my opponent remain a part of the sheriff’s office. Every morning, I think we would agree, the success of a unit in regard to a mission is regarding the unity of the team. That team has to be united. On the particular day that this took place my opponent had the opportunity to resign. That was never off the table. He did not want to consider any other options at that point and time. But again, it’s all about unity and the mission for the public.”
When the subject of constitutional carry and deputy welfare was put forth, Lawson asked how the removal of concealed carry permits affected the department and how to balance deputy safety while protecting the second amendment.
“All law enforcement officials were concerned about the fact that a law was being taken off the books that helped us protect our citizens and our county,” Jones said. “It wasn’t about the second amendment rights in that particular instance; it was about protecting the public. There’s not a sheriff in the state, there’s not a law enforcement official in this state who does not believe in protecting and enforcing our right to the second amendment in the constitution of the United States. Believing anything else would be absurd. In my opinion it’s all about keeping the public safe. That’s our job.”
“Rights are not granted by the government,” Hunt said. “The sheriff swears an oath to the constitution, and his fundamental duty is to defend your constitutional rights. You should not have to have a permission slip from the government to defend yourself. Prior to constitutional carry, if any law abiding citizens in here were pulled over and you did not have a permit, you are now a criminal, and you would go to jail. The idea that it’s a public safety issue to protect the public is inherently false. Criminals don’t care about permits. Your constitutional rights should take priority over revenue. You shouldn’t have to pay a fee and get a permission slip to exercise your constitutional right. It’s as simple as that.”
Other questions relating to drug trafficking, human trafficking and partnerships with other federal agencies were presented to the candidates. Hunt and Jones both agreed that Lee County needs better cooperation with federal agents to fight the fentanyl and opioid epidemic.
Hunt said that as sheriff he would put together a special task force to fight human trafficking. Jones said that the Lee County jail is holding many undocumented immigrants until federal ICE agents can come process them for deportation.
During closing comments, both candidates spoke about why they deserve constituents’ votes on May 19. Hunt emphasized looking to the future, while Jones said that he would build on his record of leading the sheriff’s office and protecting the citizens of Lee County.
“The question is, what kind of Sheriff’s office do we want moving forward?” Hunt said. “My campaign is grounded on three simple principles: justice, liberty and accountability. This isn’t about what’s been done before, it’s about what we can do better moving forward. On May 19, you have a simple choice to make, a lawman or a politician.”
“Looking back at my service to this community, I’m very proud of my service, and [I] look forward to continuing to serve,” Jones said. “That service comes with a lot of experience. It comes with knowledge gained from making mistakes and finding better ways to do things. It comes from adaptive leadership. This culture is changing exponentially faster and keeping up with it is a critical issue. That’s what I’ve been doing and what I will continue to do. Our military keeps us free, our public safety keeps us safe. We live in a county that people can’t wait to get to apparently. That happens for a reason. Publications are saying Lee County is a great place to live. We’ve got great schools, we’ve got great economic opportunities and we have great safety in this county. People feel safe. That’s what the job is all about and that’s what you’ll have if you allow me to continue as your sheriff.”
Prior to the Q&A with the candidates running for sheriff, three other Republican candidates who are asking for votes sat together on the stage. Alabama State Rep. D38 Kristen Nelson, Alabama State Rep. D80 Financial Service Chair Chris Blackshear and Alabama State Sen. D27 Jay Hovey each were given five minutes to share a little about their duties in office and what they would like to accomplish in the future.
