Deputy salaries, Rolling Thunder, crowded detention center, ICE on minds of sheriff candidates

Yahoo

12-07-2025

For the first time in more than 20 years, voters will elect a new Spartanburg County Sheriff.
Eight candidates for the position shared the stage on July 11 to make their case to voters before the August 5 Republican Party primary. A special election will take place on November 4.
Candidates emphasized several common themes throughout the two-hour program: transparency and accountability, recruitment and retention of deputies, and enhancing morale in a sheriff's office that has undergone considerable upheaval.
Former Sheriff Chuck Wright resigned in May following months of controversy. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are currently investigating the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.
More: After 20 years, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright resigns, interim leader named
The July 11 forum, held at Converse University's Twichell Auditorium and hosted by the Spartanburg County Republican Party, featured candidates Robert Cheeks, Andy Clark, Rusty Clevenger, Nick Duncan, Randy Hollifield, Joseph Pilato, Bill Rhyne, and Nic Stephens.
A crowd of about 750 was in attendance.
Bill Frady, a host on WORD radio, served as the moderator.
He gave each candidate time for a short introduction before posing a series of questions to the group.
In their responses, candidates generally agreed that salaries for sheriff's office deputies should be a priority.
'Other counties are paying more,' said Clevenger, who currently serves as Spartanburg County Coroner. 'We've got to be competitive. We've got to let (sheriff's deputies) know we care.'
Hollifield said he would press Spartanburg County Council about deputies' pay. 'Deputies put their lives on the line, and yet you don't want to pay them what they deserve – the time is now to change that,' he said.
Clark said it will be crucial for the next sheriff to establish effective communication with the county council to secure adequate funding for salaries and other essential needs. 'We'll explain the 'why,'' he said. 'We will fight them at times, but we'll work with them.'
Stephens said a deputy with a family to support could be 'living in poverty,' based on current sheriff's office salaries. 'We need to do something about that.'
But Stephens isn't sure help has to come by way of increased funding from the county council. Touting his background as a forensic accountant, he said, 'I see fat in the budget. There could be some reallocation to support pay.'
Other candidates emphasized strategies for enhancing staff morale and retention that extend beyond pay.
Cheeks, who serves in a leadership role with the sheriff's Uniform Patrol Division, said it's essential to establish an environment of open communication and trust.
'To truly know what's best for (deputies), you have to listen to them. I want everyone to have a voice,' he said.
Duncan, who took on Wright and lost in the Republican primary last year, said he believes morale in the sheriff's office has been harmed by an atmosphere of 'fear.'
He said he would 'meet with all the deputies without their supervisors' and conduct exit interviews with those leaving to understand the concerns of staff members better.
'Sometimes people will work for less money if they are respected and treated fairly,' he said. 'If not, they will go somewhere else.'
Pilato worked in law enforcement in Texas and Florida before joining the City of Spartanburg Police Department 14 years ago.
He said morale is, in large part, a function of 'leading by example' and providing plentiful opportunities for training and professional development. 'When officers are healthy, service to all of you is healthy,' he told those in attendance.
Bill Rhyne, a former deputy with the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office who later worked with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, emphasized the importance of leadership and relationships.
'When you change the culture, you'll have people who want to be there,' he said.
Several candidates discussed 'Operation Rolling Thunder,' an annual sweep of Interstates 26 and 85, aimed at seizing drugs. Under the state's civil asset forfeiture law, officers also seized cash they suspected was connected to crime.
The effort had become controversial in recent years, and interim Sheriff Jeffery Stephens said he plans to phase it out.
'I do not agree with civil asset forfeiture – if there's not a crime, we shouldn't be taking people's assets,' Rhyne said, prompting a smattering of applause from the audience.
Cheeks said he believed Rolling Thunder had been worthwhile early on, 'but over the years, it has been taken advantage of. We aren't pirates. We're not here to supplement our budget by seizing money from people up and down the highways.'
Several candidates said overcrowding at the Spartanburg County Detention Center is a problem the county must address.
'The detention center is a mess,' said Hollifield, who has worked there as part of the command staff. 'There's room for 574 people, and they're running a thousand each and every day.'
Stephens said there may be some inmates in the county jail who don't need to be there. 'They were jailed for not paying a traffic fine or not showing up to court, and they're taking up space and we're feeding them,' he said.
Clevenger said overcrowding at the jail is a matter of poor planning by county leaders. 'I was around when the jail opened (in 1994), and it was full right away. We need to be looking farther ahead and figure out how to invest now instead of it costing more money later.'
Cheeks said he would like to see more resources directed at connecting inmates with workforce training "so that when you leave, you'll have tangible resources for a job."
Frady asked the candidates about a political concept known as 'constitutional sheriff' and one of its leading proponents, Richard Mack.
The ideology promotes the theory that sheriffs have greater authority within their local jurisdictions than any other government entity, including federal or state governments. This includes the authority to interpret laws in accordance with their beliefs about the United States Constitution.
Critics argue that the movement lacks a constitutional basis and that its adherents have promoted unfounded claims of interference or fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Mack allegedly has ties to white supremacists.
None of the candidates specifically said they believe the Spartanburg County Sheriff has the right to override or nullify federal or state law.
But several said they would defend county residents' Bill of Rights freedoms.
Clark said the sheriff has 'got to protect your rights. That includes freedom of speech, the freedom to protest.'
Pointing to the Second Amendment and gun ownership, Rhyne said he would 'never let anyone come take your guaranteed rights from you.'
Duncan described the sheriff as 'the last line of defense' against a federal government seeking to take away citizens' rights.
Several candidates were critical of federal policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, including mask and vaccine mandates.
Hollifield and Pilato boasted that they had not gotten the COVID-19 vaccination.
Clevenger noted that he respected his father's decision not to be vaccinated. He said his father later died from COVID-19.
Meanwhile, candidates said they would work closely with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to find illegal immigrants.
'We will always work hand in hand with them to make sure illegal immigration is dealt with properly,' said Pilato.
'I will work with ICE if they need to come in and get rid of illegal immigrants,' Duncan said.
Rhyne said he would 'provide every asset we have to (target) illegal immigrants who are a threat to our community.'
Plans for the forum have stirred some controversy in recent weeks, prompting one candidate to withdraw from participation.
Initially, each candidate was allotted 100 tickets to be sold at $10. Additional tickets would cost $12.50.
It was revealed that Frank Tiller, the recently elected chair of the Spartanburg County GOP, remarked that a free event might attract 'hot, sweaty people, too cheap to purchase a ticket.'
As the Herald-Journal previously reported, candidate Adam Crisp announced on Facebook that he would not attend the forum, saying, 'I believe in treating voters with dignity, not disdain.'
Tiller referenced his comments in opening remarks at the July 11 forum.
He praised the candidates' hard work on the campaign trail and jokingly said, 'We've all been a little hot and sweaty this summer.'
Following public criticism of the admission fee, Tiller lined up sponsors, including the Conservative Defense Fund and former state Sen. Lee Bright, to cover the cost of holding the forum at Twichell Auditorium.
Tiller said the party issued a refund to those who had purchased tickets and made the remaining tickets free.
Converse President Boone Hopkins said the university charged about $1,000 to cover the electricity and personnel costs associated with hosting the event.
Hopkins, who was on hand for the forum, said he was pleased for Converse to serve as the setting for 'an important conversation like this."He added, "I want Converse to be a place where community members talk about big ideas and make decisions as citizens and voters.'
Frank Wrennall took the opportunity to learn more about the candidates. He's a former police officer, and he said law enforcement is 'a calling.'
Wrennall declined to say whether he was leaning toward a particular candidate, but he said he was impressed with the group overall.
'I think they touched on all the aspects of what it takes to be a good sheriff.'
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Sheriff candidates on pay: Deputies 'put their lives on the line'