Joel Howard, a lieutenant at the Bennington County Sheriff’s Department, decided to drop his bid to run as an independent candidate after getting the most Republican write-in votes in the primary election.
James Gulley Jr., a Manchester police officer and law enforcement instructor, won the Democratic primary with 44% of the vote. His two opponents said they’d already filed the necessary paperwork to run as independent candidates in the general election in November.
When was the last time you voted for a county sheriff and really knew a lot about them, what they stand for and what they hope to accomplish?
All three declared candidates say the next sheriff should be more visible than outgoing Sheriff Chad Schmidt has been during his most recent term in office.
Public records show Sheriff Chad Schmidt purchased property in Tennessee in 2020 and has dissolved his businesses in Vermont. Some local officials say they haven’t seen him in years.
The Attorney General’s Office, Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council, and Vermont State's Attorneys and Sheriffs Association all say they don’t have the authority to investigate.
Michael Crawford of Pownal is accusing Sheriff Chad Schmidt of conflict, citing sexually explicit Facebook messages with the alleged victim in a domestic violence case.
The two independents say Democratic incumbent Chad Schmidt appears to be too focused on expanding the number of service contracts.
Independent candidate for prosecutor, Christina Rainville, comes out swinging, while new challengers flood House campaigns.
Among his proposals, James Gulley Jr. said he would ‘roll back’ into the budget the 5 percent administrative fee the sheriff gets for department services.
Appointed by then-Gov. Jim Douglas in 2009, Sheriff Chad Schmidt faces a challenger in the August Democratic primary.
