Pierce wins Whitfield County sheriff’s race
DALTON, Ga. (WDEF)- There will be a brand new sheriff in Whitfield County.
The Republican Challenger Darren Pierce has unseated Sheriff Chitwood after 32 years of service, and he says he is looking to serving the people of Whitfield County.
Pierce said of his victory, “I’m very excited and very happy. Overwhelmed and full of joy.”
Pierce defeated Sheriff Chitwood by a 54 to 46 percent margin.
He says the victory was a testament of perseverance.
Pierce described, “I knew it was hard. It was an uphill battle. It was not a battle that was going to be easily won at all.”
Pierce has 18 years of experience inside of the Sheriff’s Office.
He believes that now is the time for the to begin a process of modernization for the department.
Pierce said, “My number one priority, objective, goal is to put school resource officers in this county so I’m going to start working on that day one. Then we’re going to make sure that we purchase drug K9s for each patrol shifts in the division. We’re going to bring forth true transparency. We’re going to let everyone know what’s going on in their communities.. We’ll do it through Facebook, Instagram, commissioner meetings, media, etc., whatever means we need to let them know exactly what’s going on.”
He says in particular getting k9 drug dogs is huge because of the county’s location on I-75.
Pierce said, “75 is a major drug route for drug dealers. They go to Atlanta which is a major drug hub. They get a large amount of narcotics and bring it back to states north of us, so the interstate is a big issue. But right now we don’t have any K9s to help us fight the war on drugs.”
He says he is very grateful to his supporters as he awaits his inauguration in early January.
Pierce said, “Everybody that has helped out in this campaign, I just can’t thank them individually because there’s so many people, but I want to thank them. I want to tell the citizens that you can trust me. I will serve you with the utmost respect, professionalism, and integrity.”
We tried to reach out to Sheriff Chitwood for comment, but he was unavailable on Wednesday.
