Could Reese’s resume be too strong for sheriff race?

A largely slow political season on the local level turned on its ear Friday with Demopolis Police Department Chief Tommie Reese’s announcement that he will be running for the office of Sheriff of Marengo County.

What appeared to be a three-horse race between incumbent Richard “Ben” Bates, Greene County Sheriff’s Deputy Tommy Johnson and Alabama Beverage Control Sergeant Phillip Myers has completely changed with Reese’s declaration.

Reese enters the political fray with a law enforcement history that has seen him spend time with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, the Marengo County Sheriff’s Department and the Demopolis Police Department.

Reese, whose expertise has in recent years been utilized by law enforcement academies in the education of police officer trainees, stated at Wednesday’s Demopolis City Council meeting that crime has dropped 39 percent since he took over the DPD in 2009.

Reese’s effectiveness both from a law enforcement standpoint and a fiscal management perspective is largely above reproach. He has been stunningly efficient in both areas. If Reese were to be elected and were to leave his post atop the Demopolis department, his greatest legacy may well be the strong stance he has taken against drugs.

Drug enforcement efforts such as Operation Gemini, which resulted in dozens of arrests, coupled with the prescription drug take back program have made Reese’s motto of “Today may be your day” less of a mantra and more of a prognosticative guarantee.

All of those things coupled with achievements such as the establishment of DPD’s mobile command unit, the secondary police station at Vowell’s on U.S. Highway 80 and the popular Citizens Police Academy has not only given Reese the wealthiest resume in the race, but has changed the culture of law enforcement in Demopolis.

And while that laundry list of achievements would seem to make Reese an immediate favorite in the Sheriff’s race, the face of Demopolis law enforcement may have one major problem. Did he do too good of a job?

With all of the aforementioned feathers in his cap, Reese would seem to be a lock to carry the vast majority of the ever-important Demopolis vote in the forthcoming election. However, is it possible that Demopolis voters would rather Reese stay exactly where he is than see him carry his brand of justice to the county level?

If Reese has done as good of a job as it seems he has, there may be a sizable contingent of voters on the north end of the county that mark their ballots for Bates or Johnson or Myers as sheriff and, in so doing, vote for Reese to stay perched at the head of their municipality’s law enforcement division.

The Demopolis council’s decision Thursday to allow non-elected city officials to seek elected office outside of the municipality allowed Reese to have his proverbial cake and eat it too as it paved the way for him to keep his position as the Demopolis police chief while entering the sheriff’s race.

But it is possible that the very same 4-2 council vote may have also hurt Reese’s chances in that same election as voters now have the option of having their cake and eating it too by turning their attention to another candidate with the knowledge that their police chief will be staying right where he is.

Granted, everything is conjecture at this early stage and the way the next few months are handled by each candidate could be just as important as anything in their previous law enforcement careers. But one thing is for certain and that is the simple truth that the race for Marengo County’s sheriff will be the most compelling competition on this season’s ballot.