Candidates for sheriff speak to Rotary Club
Candidates for the office of sheriff of Marengo County spoke to the Demopolis Rotary Club Wednesday giving a glimpse into their backgrounds and qualifications and touching briefly on what they see for the future.
Both incumbent Richard Bates and challenger Robert Alston Jr. are products of Marengo County, and each served in the military.
Bates, who spoke first, joined the 1165th miliary police company in Linden at the age of 17. He served in the U.S. Army for 20 years on four continents before retiring, meeting people from different backgrounds. He joined the Marengo County Sheriff’s Department in 1983. He ran against disgraced Sheriff Roger Davis in 1994 and lost. He left the department but was elected sheriff in 2010.
“I’m the type of person who (believes) law enforcement is law enforcement,” he said, “and I’m not going to tolerate no wrongdoing.”
He refuted rumors that he had closed the county jail saying the jail “has never, ever been closed.” He added that because of the pandemic, different protocols had to be followed. “We just have to change the way we do things.”
He has been after the County Commission to allow the jail to bring on staff a nurse or doctor. So far, his request had yet to be granted. Any inmate requiring medical care must be transported to another jail facility that can house them.
In addition to law enforcement duties, Bates said he makes sure several elderly citizens are taken care of when bad weather is threatening. His deputies visit all three county school campuses each week.
“I guess you can say that I’m part Lone Ranger and part Andy Griffith. I treat everyone like my brother or sister,” he ended.
Alston joined the National Guard after his graduation from Linden High School. He went on to serve in the Reserves. He also is a former truck driver.
In 2003 he decided law enforcement was something he wanted to do, and he joined the Linden Police Department. Six years later he hired on with the Sheriff’s Department. He became a member of the Drug Task Force in 2011, but after a year, when funding was pulled from that group, he went back to the LPD. He became interim chief and then chief of police in 2016.
Alston said Sheriff Bates had closed the jail to certain cases. He said an unofficial count of warrants that had not been served on felons had reached more than 70. “Those cases don’t meet the criteria,” he said. “It is my intention to change that.”
He listed some of the community events his office has sponsored such as Trunk or Treat at Halloween, end-of-summer splash and providing back-to-school supplies.
“We had a chance to meet and greet the community at those events, he said. He and his officers listened to concerns and did their best to address those concerns. “We’ve got to have an open communication line with the community.”
During his law enforcement career, Alston continued his education. Among other training, he earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
“We have to continue to grow, we have to continue to learn, we have to continue to evolve,” he said. “Laws change, so we’ve got to change.”