VAN BUREN -- Crawford County residents will have the opportunity to choose one of four Republicans with law enforcement experience to serve as sheriff for the next four years.
Daniel Perry, Shannon Gregory, Wayne Sandusky and James Mirus are vying for the position in the Republican primary election May 24.
No candidates from any other political party filed to run for the seat, according to the Crawford County Clerk's Office.
The incumbent sheriff, Jim Damante, was appointed sheriff in 2021 to serve the remainder of Ron Brown's four-year term. Brown retired that year. Damante isn't able to seek re-election under state law.
Perry said he's captain over Van Buren's Police Department's patrol division. He's served in the department for almost 27 years, including 20 years in criminal investigations, nearly five years in narcotics with the 12th and 21st District Drug Task Force and two years in administration over patrol. Perry's 32 years in law enforcement also includes time spent on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Child Abduction Response Team and in the Magnolia Police Department.
Perry argued he's the most qualified candidate to serve as sheriff given the number of areas in which he has worked in law enforcement and the length of time he has served in the field. He also pointed to his experience as a justice of the peace on the Quorum Court and running his own business as qualifications, saying the Sheriff's Office needs to be run similarly to a business.
Perry believes residents want to see Sheriff's Office deputies in their communities and are tired of the "drug problem" in the county, which includes methamphetamine and the opioids heroin and fentanyl.
Perry said should he be elected, he would keep an employee on the 12th and 21st District Drug Task Force and possibly look into getting a police dog for the department if money is available. He also wants to establish a group of community leaders in the county that would regularly meet to discuss problems in these communities with him.
Gregory said he has been Mulberry's police chief since Jan. 1, 2013. His law enforcement career began in 1993, with him working as a dispatcher for Alma's Police Department and Arkansas State Police before joining the Crawford County Sheriff's Office in 1996. Once there, Gregory started in dispatch, went to patrol and moved up the ranks to patrol sergeant. Although he accepted a job in the oil field in 2006, he stayed in the Sheriff's Office's reserves and returned in 2010, serving as patrol deputy.
Gregory said he's worked for four Crawford County sheriffs in his life, learning a great deal from each one. In addition to being a "pretty good" leader, his experience working at the Sheriff's Office has given him the knowledge necessary to understand how to effectively carry out the responsibilities of the department, such as patrolling the county.
Gregory said the lack of deputies being seen is one of the main issues residents have brought up to him. If elected, his deputies would have to understand people living in the northern part of the county deserve to see them as much as those in the southern side. Effective patrols would also help significantly slow the drug trade in the county, which would help decrease the rate of other offenses.
Improving retention at the Sheriff's Office will help put more deputies on the road, facilitating more effective patrols, according to Gregory. He intends to examine ways to improve benefits for deputies to make this happen.
"I've talked to all three county judge candidates, and one way we're looking at doing that is trying to shop around for better family insurance," Gregory said.
Sandusky said he's an estimator and project manager for Harris United, as well as a part-time patrol officer for Cedarville's Police Department. He was employed by Fort Smith's Police Department from 1982 to 1990, serving as a patrol and field training officer, as well as a member of the SWAT Team and Honor Guard. He worked for the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Orlando, Fla., from 1990 to 1995, starting as a road deputy before being promoted to the criminal investigation division.
Sandusky said working for the Orange County Sheriff's Office imparted considerable experience due to the size of the department and population of the county. Sandusky's time in construction has given him experience in managing several projects simultaneously with multi-million-dollar budgets, which he believes has imparted the skills necessary to run the Sheriff's Office.
Sandusky said residents have told him they want improvement in keeping the jail operational and safe. They also want to be treated with more respect from the Sheriff's Office.
Sandusky said if elected, he would work to foster camaraderie and respect between the administration of the Sheriff's Office and its employees, including deputies and office and jail personnel.
"For years, I was a patrol officer and a deputy, and if you don't have the support of your higher-ups, you just don't have the incentive to get out and work the way you should," Sandusky said.
Regarding the drug problem in the county, Sandusky said he hopes to deploy an "intellectual police program" allowing the Sheriff's Office to keep track of where service calls come from. This would help it determine where the major problems are and where deputies need to patrol.
Mirus said he's the chief deputy of the Crawford County Sheriff's Office. He has worked in every division since joining the department in November 2010, with his paid positions starting at dispatcher and including the ranks of the patrol division up to captain over patrol and communications. There was also a time in which Mirus was a "captain over everything" in another captain's absence. Mirus is captain of the District 3 Volunteer Fire Department in the county as well.
Mirus said he believes his experience maintaining the Sheriff's Office's budget and being a part of and running every division in the department makes him the most qualified candidate, as well as his knowledge of the maintenance and operations of the jail. He argued all this would allow him to not need to spend time learning or depend on somebody else to teach him how the department needs to be, or should be, run.
Early voting for the Republican primary election starts Monday, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State website.
The sheriff's position comes with an annual salary of $63,878, according to the County Clerk's Office.
Daniel Perry (R)
Age: 55.
Residency: Van Buren; lived in Crawford County since 1992.
Occupation: Captain over the Van Buren Police Department’s patrol division; co-owner of Attic Treasures in Van Buren.
Education: Magnolia High School. Attended Southern Arkansas University and Westark Community College (now University of Arkansas-Fort Smith).
Political Experience: Crawford County District 9 justice of the peace since Jan. 1, 2018.
Shannon Gregory (R)
Age: 47.
Residency: North of Alma; lifelong resident of Crawford County.
Occupation: Mulberry police chief.
Education: Alma High School.
Political Experience: None.
Wayne Sandusky (R)
Age: 64.
Residency: North of Rudy; lived in Crawford County since 2012.
Occupation: Estimator and project manager, Harris United; part-time patrol officer, Cedarville Police Department.
Education: Rivercrest High School. Attended Westark Community College (now University of Arkansas-Fort Smith).
Political Experience: Dyess City Council for about six months in 1979; moved before completing term.
James Mirus (R)
Age: 33.
Residency: Mountainburg area; lifelong resident of Crawford County.
Occupation: Chief deputy, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
Education: Mountainburg High School. Attended University of Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Political Experience: None.