MIDLAND, Texas — Midland County Sheriff David Criner and the two other candidates for the sheriff position, Rory McKinney and Justin Painter, took part in a candidate forum with the Midland Rotary Club.
The three men were cordial with each other. Each were given five minutes to speak on why they believe they are the best candidate for the job.
After this, the candidates fielded questions from the Rotary Club members about a variety of topics.
A popular topic of discussion were crime rates in Midland County and how the candidates would tackle it.
Sheriff Criner believes that his deputies have been patrolling the county to keep the bad guys off the streets.
“We have activity in the county. As you know, crime is crime," Sheriff Criner said. "The population is growing, nobody is going to blame that, but we do have proactive patrol out there every night, beating the streets to keep Midland County safe.”
As for his challengers, McKinney would look to add some new substations, particularly in Greenwood, among some other additions to the sheriff's office.
“Put in the [Greenwood] substation, create a narcotic unit and making them work, making them get drugs off of our streets here," McKinney said. "Just being a more community oriented department being out of the public."
Painter thinks that, in order to better combat the crime, it would take a strong leader who can not only bring in new hires but keep them in house to keep combatting the crime.
“There's going to be more crime. The biggest thing is getting it out there and hiring more people," Painter said. "That's the tough part: getting people not only hired but to stay.”
What do the candidates plan on doing if they win though?
Sheriff Criner highlighted Midland County’s relationships with outside agencies, which is something he wants to keep going.
“We get along well with all the other agencies. You don't see that very often in any agency," Sheriff Criner said. "We're working with DPS (Department of Public Safety), we work with the State, we work with the federal government, we'll talk to other outside entities as well.”
McKinney said he’s not here for politics and will keep his door open to the people and his employees.
“I'm not a politician sheriff, I’m a lawman’s sheriff, which means I will be there for the jailers. I will be there for patrolling," McKinney said. "I'll be there for every employee within the sheriff's office and I'll have an open door policy for the employees.”
Painter echoed these thoughts by saying that, if he wins, he wants to keep the communication flowing throughout the department.
“I'm going to implement the open door policy, have people come in and speak to me about anything and anytime," Painter said. "We're going to do more for accountability and more public engagement.”
Early voting is still happening. The last day to vote is Super Tuesday, which is on March 5.