SMITHFIELD -- More than a year after Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell publicly made disparaging remarks about Hispanic residents, he continues to enjoy widespread popularity.
Many residents, along with county and Republican party leaders, say they will still support their sheriff as he seeks re-election for the first time since his comments. The remarks stirred some advocacy groups to call for his resignation, and the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina asked for arrest records to determine whether sheriff's deputies have engaged in ethnic profiling.
Bizzell, who has served as Johnston's sheriff since 1998, came under fire in September 2008 for comments he made in an article that appeared in The News & Observer. He accused Hispanic residents of "breeding like rabbits" and being "trashy."
The well-known Republican sheriff apologized.
Now Bizzell is facing off against retired state Trooper Gerry Mouzon, a Democrat who has had a career goof of his own: Mouzon was demoted in 1999 for having an affair with another trooper's wife.
Bizzell, 51, said he rarely talks about the criticism he has faced.
"It's like a sinner going to the altar on a Sunday morning," he said. "You repent and move on."
Voters in this fast-growing county will have their say in November.
Already, some are quick to defend Bizzell.
"If you put yourself in that position and deal with that day in and day out, you can see where he might slip," said Arthur Stephenson, 49, who lives on a farm near Bizzell in the Princeton area. "Nobody's perfect, so I don't think [voters] will hold that against him."
Johnston County has seen a rising number of Hispanic residents. The county's population is now about 11 percent Hispanic. The shift has changed the character of the county, said Jonathan Adams, 19, of Smithfield. Traffic is heavy at the flea market near Smithfield on the weekends, and he thinks the county is becoming over-populated.
"[Bizzell] has my full support," Adams said.
The sheriff also has the support of County Commission Chairman Wade Stewart and Andrew Tyree, chairman of the Johnston County Republican Party.
Mouzon, 50, has said he wants the sheriff's race to focus on the needs of the county instead of past transgressions . But during a campaign kickoff rally last month, Mouzon said that, if elected, he wants deputies to take part in diversity training.
He told supporters he's running for sheriff because he thinks the county's top law-enforcement official is obligated "to represent the people while treating them with dignity and respect."
Manuel Cruz, a former lieutenant with the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, said he quit his job not long after Bizzell made the comments. He declined to say how much his boss' remarks factored into his decision to leave.
"I was disappointed," said Cruz, who is supporting Mouzon.
Tougher license policy
Limited resources at the state ACLU office have slowed analysis of arrest records, said Katy Parker, an attorney for the group.
Parker said it's unclear whether Hispanics have been targeted for arrests, but she said many Hispanic residents in Johnston are charged with driving without a license.
"Which begs the question, why were they pulled over in the first place?" Parker said.
Tighter regulations in North Carolina have made it harder for illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses. Sometimes, immigrants who are caught for driving without a license are jailed and risk deportation.
Bizzell, who has served as president of the N.C. Sheriff's Association, has gained a reputation for taking a hard stand against illegal immigration.
The ACLU has interviewed about 20 Hispanic residents who have been arrested or stopped at road checkpoints in Johnston, Parker said.
She said some think they were unfairly targeted by deputies, but none of them have been willing to go on record.
Bizzell, who still lives on the farm where he grew up and prides himself on running the sheriff's office like a business, said the incident has renewed his faith "in treating others like you want to be treated."
"I apologized for the comments," he said. "I learned from it. It's made me a better person and, I believe, a better sheriff."
Voters will decide
Pat Branch, a spokeswoman for the Johnston County Democratic Party, doesn't seem so sure. She said Johnston residents deserve a law-enforcement leader who sees everyone as equals.
Tony Asion, executive director of El Pueblo, a statewide Latino advocacy group, said Bizzell's re-election next fall would be a reflection of the county.
"The people of Johnston County will have to decide if they want to be a place where their elected officials can make those kind of comments" and get re-elected, Asion said.
Branch said Mouzon's campaign is well organized and well staffed, and she's confident he will do a good job getting his name out to voters.
Meanwhile, Bizzell is counting on voters giving him another chance. "What you see is what you get," he said. "I don't try to be anybody that I'm not."
