Sheriff hopefuls debate

Jay Jones
Staff Reporter

CONYERS - Experience, or the perception of it, was a major point of contention between Rockdale County Democratic sheriff candidates Donald Ferguson and Randy Akies during a debate Saturday.

The debate, held at the Johnson Park center, offered a chance for both candidates to show voters what they had to offer leading up to the July 15 primary election. The even was hosted by the Rockdale County Democratic party, attracting a healthy turnout of residents, elected officials and those running for other elected offices.

The debate allowed both candidates to ask a question of the other at the end of the debate. Ferguson, who is a captain with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and services as the accreditation manager for the agency, addressed his opponent as "Sgt. Akies," Akies' rank with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office, and asked if he believed he could serve as sheriff with his level of managerial experience.

"Call me Randy Akies," Akies responded. "My opponent has had a lot of titles in his career, but he does not have the actual work experience in the streets that I have."

Akies continued that if elected, he believed his work experience would keep him from losing touch with deputies and county residents. "I don't believe in titles to impress," he said after the debate. "We're people and individuals first."

Ferguson has more years experience in law enforcement as a whole to Akies - 23 years to Akies' 13. as well as more managerial experience. He told residents part of his plan to "return the sheriff's office back to the people," including outreach programs for senior citizens and youngsters that would serve to educate seniors on how to avoid becoming victims of crime and to prevent children from entering into criminal activities.

Ferguson said that as sheriff he would seek to form partnerships with other groups in the community to carry out his plans, including working with the county parks and recreation department on after-school activities and working with DeKalb Tech to launch an education program for jail inmates.

Akies' key plans for the sheriff's office included an "integrity unit" similar to an internal affairs division, to the sheriff’s office and a "pay to stay" program for inmates who are not deemed indigent to pay for their own health care while incarcerated.

Other topics discussed included:

- Cooperating with the Conyers Police Department. Both men said they believe a poor working relationship exists between the sheriff's office and the city police. Akies said if he is elected he would seek to deputize all of the city police officers in order to bolster patrols in both the city and county.

Ferguson said as sheriff he would formalize the relationship between the two agencies by entering into a mutual aid agreement with the city.

- The biggest challenge facing the sheriff’s office. Ferguson said he believed officer retention was the toughest issue facing the sheriff's office, adding that he would seek pay raises for deputies to compete with neighboring law enforcement agencies.

Akies said inmate health care is already a big problem that will get bigger as the inmate population grows. Akies said his "pay to stay" program would "deter criminals and help taxpayers."

-Crime prevention in the schools. Akies said the sheriff's office resources in crime prevention should be directed more toward schools, but differed with Ferguson on the approach. Akies said he wanted more community involvement, with the sheriff's office taking the lead.

"A school resource officer (per school) is not enough, and we need to find joint efforts with other groups," he said. "People shouldn't expect the sheriff's office to raise their children. I say open up to the local churches to help out."

Along with his proposals for after-school and youth activities, Ferguson said he would work with the county school system to allow deputies to teach anti-gang classes. He said that many teens might turn away from a gang if they knew the effects gangs have on themselves, their families and their communities.

Jay Jones can be reached at jay.jones@rockdalecitizen.com

Due to Technical Difficulties at www.rockdalecitizen.com, this article was retyped and posted to www.donaldferguson.org with the permission of the Rockdale Citizen. The Rockdale Citizen is in no way affiliated with the Campaign to Elect Donald Ferguson and vice versa.