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Election 2020

Oswald elected HoCo Sheriff

Justin Addison Editor/Publisher
Posted 11/10/20

Howard County will have a new sheriff starting in January. Current Fayette Chief of Police Jeff Oswald successfully defeated two-term incumbent Mike Neal for the county’s highest law …

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Election 2020

Oswald elected HoCo Sheriff

Posted

Howard County will have a new sheriff starting in January. Current Fayette Chief of Police Jeff Oswald successfully defeated two-term incumbent Mike Neal for the county’s highest law enforcement office.

Mr. Oswald, a Republican, garnered more than 56% of the vote to win by a margin of 650 votes. He has served as Fayette’s police chief for 10 years.

Mr. Neal has served as Sheriff for the last eight years after he successfully defeated longtime incumbent Charlie Polson for the job in 2012. He narrowly fended off a challenge from Mr. Polson in 2016.

Addressing an audience at the courthouse Tuesday following the election, Mr. Neal thanked his supporters and congratulated Mr. Oswald after a less-than-congenial campaign. “Good luck, Jeff. You don’t have a clue what stress you’re going to have,” he said.

“He can have that stress of working his shift, then a jail shift, and then his shift again. He can have all that. He can figure out what it’s like to not have any manpower and still make things work. He’ll figure it out. It’ll be a learning experience for him,” said Mr. Neal.

Mr. Oswald replied that he knows the job won’t be easy but said he looks forward to the challenge. “I look forward to serving you in 2021,” he said in his address to supporters. 

“I’d like to thank my family and my supporters, the people who came out and voted in Howard County and said ‘I want you to provide good law enforcement for us.’ I look forward to the challenge that 2021 will bring,” Mr. Oswald said.

Mr. Neal, who ran as an Independent, said that he was looking forward to a new county commission. Two members of the three-person commission were newly elected Tuesday. In the past he has criticized commissioners for what he considered to be a lack of funding for the Sheriff’s Department. “I was actually looking forward to having some new commissioners in there and see what changes there would be in the courthouse,” he said.

“It’s kind of bittersweet, but it is what it is,” Mr. Neal said.

Mr. Neal said he does not intent to run for Sheriff again in four years.  I’ve got 28 years in…that’ll be enough,” he said.

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