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Voters in Maries County will have their choice of two candidates for sheriff Nov. 3.
Current Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman, a Republican, faces opposition from Democrat Buddy Thompson.
Heitman has been the Maries County sheriff for 12 years. The position of sheriff is not term limited.
Prior to first being elected sheriff, he was elected city marshal for Belle for four years and served in the Gasconade County sheriff's office and Eureka Police Department, for a total of 22 years in law enforcement.
He has two degrees in criminal justice and is a certified law enforcement instructor in Missouri, and he teaches at the police academy in Jefferson City.
Heitman said he is running for re-election because he feels he is the most qualified person for the role.
"As law enforcement is changing every year, the sheriff needs to know the new laws and be able to instruct his deputies on what's right and what's wrong and how to handle certain situations," Heitman said. "I feel I'm the best person to do that."
Thompson is no stranger to working for the Maries County Sheriff's Office and has 32 years of law enforcement experience. He started in 1988 as a dispatcher and jailer then served as deputy sheriff under Sheriff Roy Bassett and Sheriff Doug DiNatale.
From 1994-97, Thompson was the shift supervisor for the security team at the Ike Skelton Training Site, the National Guard Armory in Jefferson City.
He also served briefly as a reserve deputy under Heitman and has served as reserve officer for the city of Vienna.
Outside of law enforcement, Thompson has owned and operated Bud's Auto in Vienna for 13 years and operated a school bus for Maries County R-1 School District for 17 years.
Thompson said he is running for sheriff because he sees a need for Maries County law enforcement to move in a different direction.
"Cooperation between city, county, and state agencies is vital for our county to solve more crimes and combat drug abuse," Thompson said. "In addition, I feel that stricter fiscal management and transparency is necessary to forge a strong relationship between the sheriff's office and the people of Maries County."
Thompson said he would focus on addressing issues of property crimes and drug abuse, which he said he believes are closely tied.
"I want to take an approach that is both proactive and rooted in common sense to thefts and break-ins," Thompson said. "I would like to more effectively assign our staff to address these issues."
Thompson said he would work closely with the county's prosecuting attorney and courts to successfully close criminal cases.
If re-elected, Heitman hopes to update the county's 911 center. The center was previously updated about 10 years ago.
"Prior to when I took over, our 911 center was probably the poorest in the state, and we were able to a lot of grant funding to improve our 911 center," Heitman said. "Unfortunately, 10 years is a long time and stuff starts to get outdated, and it actually needs updated again."
Heitman would also like to improve the county's jail and make sure to retain good deputies in the department.
He said he has heard increasing concerns in the county about usage of heroin and fentanyl in the area.
"That's something we just obtained another grant on," Heitman said. "We got a $40,000 grant just to combat opioid usage in the county. We've already started a big project against opioids as well."
Thompson said he has heard from residents of Belle that they would like to have city law enforcement back, and he would work with the city on a transition if one was reinstated.
Thompson said, if elected, he would be visible in the community.
"I firmly believe that in order for a sheriff's office to function, the citizens must know that the individuals who are serving them are truly there to help them and actively patrolling the county," Thompson said. "The position of the sheriff is a public service position and as such, should always remember that law enforcement works for the taxpayers of Maries County. Law enforcement officers are sworn to protect and serve, and that can never be forgotten."
Heitman said, during his time as sheriff, he has focused on bringing grant funding into the county.
"Since I've been sheriff, we've done over a million dollars in grants or donations," Heitman said. "Maries County is one of the poorer counties in the state. Without the grants and additional funding we're able to receive through federal and state processes, my deputies wouldn't be able to have the equipment that they have, and so that's something we spend a lot of time doing."