Sumner County voters challenged
Dear Editor:
I was recently in White House and read the Browser.  As a citizen of Sumner County, I have to say I was very confused by Gerald Blair’s announcement of his candidacy for the office of Constable in the 12th District.  My confusion lies with his circular logic as to why he is running for an office he feels is useless, outdated, and ripe for corruption.

Mr. Blair rightly points out the proud history of elected Constables and that many counties in Tennessee have abolished the office for their jurisdictions.  However, Sumner County apparently feels that the twelve extra law enforcement officials continue to serve a purpose here.  Yes, we have a very good Sheriff’s Department under the leadership of Sheriff Barker.  But I doubt he feels he is fully staffed and can respond to all calls for service as quickly as he would like.  Nor would he likely discourage qualified people from conducting visible patrols in areas of the county that rarely see a marked Sheriff’s Patrol vehicle.

As to Mr. Blair’s assertion that he is only running to keep unqualified people from holding the office, I challenge him to tell the voters of District 12 how his opponent is not qualified.  If he cannot, which is likely, considering the time Mr. Davis has been serving as a volunteer Deputy with the Sumner County Sheriff’s Department, he should drop out of the race.  There is no reason for Mr. Blair to hold an office he doesn’t want just to prevent someone else from doing the job he hasn’t been doing for the last eight years.

Mr. Blair stated he was concerned about “fee grabbing.”  I have been a full-time law enforcement officer for ten years now.  When I first learned of Constables in Sumner County, I too was concerned how they were paid and who funded their equipment.  I learned very quickly and easily that no Constable who actually wrote tickets and made arrests ever came close to covering their expenses through the fees collected by the courts.  Several Constables I met through the years either couldn’t afford the pay cut to make law enforcement their full-time job or were retired.  Either way, they felt a calling to help in any way they could, knowing they were spending money they would never get back, and risking their safety for nothing more than knowing they were making a positive difference in their community.

I am confident that Mr. Davis is qualified to hold the office of Constable for no other reason than the time he has served as a Reserve Deputy with the Sheriff’s Department.  I know Sheriff Barker well enough to know that he would never allow someone unqualified to wear his uniform and badge or drive his patrol vehicle and represent his office as Sheriff.  If Mr. Blair disagrees, he should discuss his reasons with Sheriff Barker.  I’m sure he would be interested if he had an unqualified Deputy working for him.

I’d like to finish by asking Mr. Blair how he decided to leave full-time law enforcement, yet wants to stay connected through the office of Constable and working as a private investigator.  Every officer I have known to leave the law enforcement career early either completely changed career fields or was forced to resign or fired for misconduct.  I am curious which group Mr. Blair falls under, since he did not change his career field.

I challenge every voter in Sumner County to take advantage of still having elected Constables by meeting the candidates in your district and making an informed choice as to whom you want assisting the Police Officers and Sheriff’s Deputies in your neighborhood.

Sincerely, Bradley Nave
Gallatin, TN