Taylor joins race for sheriff

Tony Taylor announced this week his intention to seek election to the office of Sheriff of Jenkins County.

Taylor was married to Cindy Alligood Taylor for 14 years before her untimely death last July. He has two children, Lauren, who attends Georgia Southern and Tyler, a sixth grader at Jenkins County Middle School. He is the son of the late Boe and Erlene Taylor of Millen.

Taylor has been a full time law enforcement officer for 23 years and along with a degree in Criminal Justice, has nearly 3,000 training hours from the Georgia Police Academy.

He is currently employed as a detective with the Sylvania Police Department.

In announcing his candidacy, Taylor made the following remarks.

"Citizens say they are ready for experienced law enforcement, someone who has handled the situations that seem to be arising more frequently in our community. I have a vast amount of working experience and if elected can make a difference for the citizens of Jenkins County,"

"One of the first priorities would be to target the drug problem in Jenkins County. The majority of crimes in Jenkins County can be traced to the sale and use of illegal drugs. By attacking this problem head on in a proactive manner, you can reduce the rate of other crimes such as burglaries, thefts, and a lot of the violent crimes that are committed.

I would work to re-instate the Drug Task force that formerly worked in Jenkins County."

"I believe as public servants the sheriff's department exists not only to enforce the law but to help the citizens. In the last 23 years I have found myself more often in the problem solving business than the law enforcement business. I have never told a citizen that their problem wasn't my job, or that I didn't care about their problem. As a servant of the people, we are duty bound to make every possible effort to help any citizen with a problem regardless to its severity."

"I would seek to maximize the available resources. This would allow the Sheriff's Department to provide top quality service without increasing costs to the taxpayers. I would work with school officials to insure our children receive every opportunity to a quality education in a drug and violence free environment."

"I have been asked numerous times why I would leave my job to come back and work in Jenkins County. The answer is simple, Jenkins County is my home, my wife grew up here, as did my parents, and it's the only home my son, Tyler has ever known. My family is here, as well as my friends and their children. I believe I can use my experience to help make Jenkins County a better place to live and prosper."

"Though I know a lot of people in Jenkins County, the truth is that I don't know everyone. I would encourage anyone who doesn't know me to find someone that does and ask them. My dedication to family, my work ethic and reputation have always spoken for themselves. I look forward to meeting as many people as possible in the upcoming months and the opportunity to serve each and every citizen in Jenkins County if elected."