Our choices in the Wake County sheriff primaries
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Endorsements 2022
The Editorial Board’s recommendations for the primary elections on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.
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Former Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison summed up the reason he is seeking to return to his old job by pointing to the crowded field of contenders.
“When you see 10 people running for sheriff, you know there is a problem,” he said.
Harrison, who served four four-year terms after being elected in 2002, is almost right. It’s not that there’s a problem. It’s that there are many problems.
Wake Sheriff Gerald Baker, a Democrat, ousted the Republican Harrison in an upset election in 2018. Baker, 59, ran on his opposition to Harrison’s participation in the federal 287(g) program. Under the program, immigrants without legal status who are arrested on other charges, sometimes involving minor violations, are held in jail so that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can take them into federal custody and deport them.
Baker removed Wake County from the 287(g) agreement and tried to refocus an office that had grown too insular during Harrison’s 16-year reign. But even Democratic leaders and county officials say Baker, a former Wake deputy, was unprepared for the job. His tenure has been marked by haphazard management, staff shortages and multiple firings. He is facing federal lawsuits from several employees who accuse him of discrimination and retaliation.
That first-term performance has triggered Republican and Democratic primaries as candidates see an opportunity to unseat Baker.
The Republican primary
David Blackwelder, 36, a Wake Forest lawyer and former police officer, has sound ideas about improving law enforcement. But he lacks the management experience and political support that are needed to run a large urban sheriff’s office.
Tivon Howard, 46, a sergeant with the Zebulon Police Department, is also running.
Given his long service and name recognition, Harrison is the favorite in this primary. At 76, he should be enjoying his retirement instead of taking on the challenges of law enforcement and the headaches of jail management. But Harrison’s ability to run a stable and effective operation is sorely needed in the Wake Sheriff’s Office.
“I feel like I could do a better job,” Harrison told the Editorial Board.
We agree.
We recommend Donnie Harrison.
The Democratic Primary
An incumbent sheriff in a seven-way primary should be a lock to win the nomination, but Baker has left the door open and five contenders have walked in. They are:
Randolph Baity, 46, a former Wake deputy and career law enforcement officer; Joe Coley, 51, a former Wake detention officer and deputy; Cedric Herring, 53, a retired North Carolina State Highway Patrol officer; Tommy Matthews, 68, a retired a retired Wake County Sheriff’s Office major; Willie Rowe, 62, also a retired Wake County Sheriff’s Office major, and Roy Taylor, 59, the president of Capitol Special Police, a private security company.
Several top Democrats favor Rowe for the nomination. We found him well qualified to restore confidence in the Sheriff’s Office. But Taylor, a former Wake County deputy, makes the best case based on his progressive ideas about law enforcement. He has a doctorate in criminal justice and extensive experience in managing civilian and military law enforcement operations. He would bring a fresh perspective to a department divided by infighting.
Taylor will stress teaching deputies to deescalate law enforcement encounters when possible, and he said he will hold deputies accountable when they use excessive force. He favors the prompt release of body and dash cam videos and said a sheriff should be willing “to call it out when officers make a mistake.”
Most importantly, he wants the sheriff’s office to help improve the county’s mental health safety net at a time when the county jail is too often filled with the mentally ill. He says on his campaign website: “We need to make sure all county agencies coordinate efforts to assist and care for those who struggle with mental health issues. It is essential to provide care rather than locking them up in jail, worsening their problems.”
We recommend Roy Taylor.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREHow we do our endorsements
Members of the combined Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer editorial boards are conducting interviews and research of candidates in municipal and state elections. The combined board is led by N.C. Opinion Editor Peter St. Onge, who is joined in Raleigh by deputy Opinion editor Ned Barnett and in Charlotte by deputy Opinion editor Paige Masten. Board members also include Observer editor Rana Cash and News & Observer editor Nicole Stockdale.
The editorial board also talks with others who know the candidates and have worked with them. When we’ve completed our interviews and research, we discuss each race and decide on our endorsements.
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 4:00 AM.