BENTONVILLE — Benton County voters chose a new direction Tuesday when a solid majority cast their ballots for Kelley Cradduck in the race for sheriff.
Cradduck was elected Benton County sheriff in his third run for the office. With 57 of 57 precincts reporting, Cradduck got 12,072 votes (57.7 percent) to Mike Jones’ 8,847 (42.3 percent). Election officials said a few hundred paper ballots were still being counted when these totals were reported.
Cradduck said he never anticipated the margin of victory in Tuesday’s election.
“I just kept my nose to the grindstone and decided to let things fall however they happened to fall,” he said. “I was able to push some issues forward and made people aware of some changes that needed to be made out there, like the commissary.”
Cradduck said he wanted to congratulate Jones on running a tough, but fair, campaign.
“I know how tough these things are, especially when you’re on the losing end,” he said.
Cradduck said he hopes and expects Sheriff Keith Ferguson will give him access to the sheriff’s office in the next six months so he can familiarize himself with the department’s personnel and its operations. He said he wanted to reassure the employees and provide them some measure of calm.
“I know this is a very stressful time for the employees,” he said. “I would like to see some calmness there. There’s some real talent in that building. There’s always room for improvement and we’ll never stop striving for improvement. But I want them to feel some peace.”
Ferguson is retiring at the end of 2012. No candidate has filed as a Democrat or independent so Cradduck will become sheriff in January.
Cradduck’s campaign emphasized a broad, balanced range of experience between his 16 years in law enforcement and his civilian work in leadership training for corporations. Cradduck said he would blend his background in police work, which includes working in gang suppression and narcotics investigation with the Rogers Police Department and receiving numerous awards and recognition from his peers for his work, with the management skills he has learned.
Jones said he was pleased with the campaign, despite the results.
“First of all, I want to congratulate my opponent.” Jones said. “I’d also like to thank my family, my friends and supporters.”
Beyond the few months remaining in Ferguson’s term, Jones said, he has no set plans.
More than 7,000 people voted early in Benton County. Another 17,000 voters went to the polls Tuesday. There were a few problems encountered during the day, most notably at First Presbyterian Church in Bentonville.
Long lines plagued voters at the church on J Street in the late afternoon. At least eight people left rather than waiting in a line that snaked along a wall to the exit about 7 p.m. About 20 people were still lined up to vote at 8 p.m., said Election Commissioner John Brown.
Denise Conyers waited at least 45 minutes before she was able to vote, but she said she considers it a privilege to vote, no matter now long the wait.
“I voted at the Church of Christ before they changed things,” Conyers said. “There, I could walk in and walk out.”
Misty Gittings contributed to this report.