Candidates for Spartanburg County Sheriff: Meet Joseph Pilato
In an effort to help readers know more about the candidates and their stances on key issues facing the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office, the Herald-Journal sent four questions to each candidate – one tailored to his individual experience and three that are identical. Some answers have been edited lightly for length or clarification.
Joseph Pilato
You have touted your experience working in Florida and Texas and also spoken passionately about working with homeless people and others in need as part of the City of Spartanburg Police Department. How would these perspectives – as both an outsider and a local public servant – be valuable as sheriff?
My experience in Florida and Texas, where law enforcement training standards are higher and more comprehensive than in South Carolina, uniquely equips me to raise the bar in Spartanburg County.
Those states emphasize real-world, diverse training—such as mental health crisis response, investigations, and community policing—that better prepare officers for today's complex challenges. In contrast, South Carolina's training is shorter, less rigorous, and increasingly rushed due to staffing demands. Bringing this 'outside the box' training perspective allows me to improve officer preparedness and public safety.
As a local public servant, I've applied these skills directly—working with individuals experiencing mental health crises, addiction, homelessness, and through partnerships with faith-based groups.
This dual perspective enables me to see what others don't in regard to safety, effective training and abilities to engage the community with real solutions and bring about the necessary changes most don't even realize are needed.
Based on your understanding of the situation in the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office currently, what would you do in your first month (or week or six months or year…) to improve morale among deputies and staff members?
As Sheriff, my top priority would be to meet one-on-one with every deputy—across all ranks and divisions—to understand the root causes of low morale and distrust directly from their perspective, without fear of retaliation. I would ask what changes they believe would truly improve the agency, emphasizing that this goes beyond just pay raises. While fair pay matters, lasting morale starts from a shared vision and purpose.
I would also explore how work affects their family life and mental health, knowing that first responders are facing growing challenges in these areas. Support services must be offered without judging – the well-being of our deputies is as important as the job they do. By listening, valuing their voices, and addressing core issues of integrity and empathy, we can build a stronger, more unified agency that earns community trust. A vision with compassion and accountability will provoke lasting change.
The subject of pay for deputies has been a focus of discussion in this race. Salaries vary from county to county and among various municipal police forces. What can be done to keep Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office salaries competitive with those of surrounding departments?
While pay is important, the core issue goes beyond salaries—our deputies face daily risks due to understaffing, lack of backup, and inadequate equipment and training.
From day one, I will focus on eliminating wasteful spending, working with Spartanburg County Council to secure competitive salaries through a structured step-pay system over five years, including cost-of-living adjustments. This ensures steady progression and makes us more competitive in attracting and retaining top talent.
I also want to position Spartanburg County as a leader in law enforcement training—drawing officers from across the region. Investing in high-quality training and readiness will make our agency a model others want to imitate, and the investment will pay off in performance and preparedness. I've advocated this progressive, outside-the-box approach throughout the campaign, and I believe it's the most effective way to strengthen our agency, protect our deputies, and better serve the citizens of Spartanburg County.
Since President Trump took office in January, there has been considerable discussion about immigration enforcement. ICE is set to receive a substantial increase in funding following the recent budget legislation that was signed into law. Candidates for Spartanburg County Sheriff have expressed support for ICE's efforts to target illegal immigrants.
At the same time, some residents are worried about the potential presence of masked ICE officers using heavy-handed tactics in our community. Others are anxious about the possibility of ICE mistakenly detaining legal immigrants, naturalized citizens – or even U.S.-born citizens. How would you balance support for the federal crackdown on illegal immigration while protecting the rights of individuals and communities in Spartanburg County?
I support ICE's lawful role in targeting illegal immigration and believe their mission is often misrepresented by biased media narratives that confuse illegal with legal immigration. These narratives unfairly paint law enforcement officers—including ICE agents—as corrupt, undermining public trust and endangers officer safety.
I have no issue with undercover or masked officers when operating within the law, especially when fighting terrorism, human trafficking, drug smuggling, and illegal arms trade. Federal and local agencies can and should work together lawfully to protect all citizens.
While I strongly support legal immigration—as my own family immigrated to this country—I believe those here unlawfully must respect our laws. America has always welcomed people from all over the world, and I support their right to come legally. Our freedoms have come at a great cost, and it's our duty to uphold the laws that protect freedoms for everyone in our community.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg County Sheriff candidate answers questions about the job
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