FAYETTEVILLE — Jay Cantrell, longtime chief deputy with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, won his race to become the next sheriff, according to incomplete and unofficial election results.
Cantrell was on track to beat Jovey Marshall for the Republican Party nomination for sheriff. The winner is unopposed in the November general election.
Sheriff Tim Helder announced in February he will retire at the end of December after serving as sheriff since he was first elected in 2004.
Sheriffs serve four-year terms. The salary for Washington County sheriff this year is $141,470.
Cantrell has worked for the Sheriff’s Office since July 1981. He said he wants to continue the progress the office has made under Helder.
Cantrell said crowding at the jail has been a problem for the past several years. A proposal to expand the jail was shelved in 2018 after justices of the peace decided they wanted to explore alternatives to incarceration.
A smaller expansion to add 232 beds and expand areas for isolation and quarantine of detainees, booking, medical treatment, circuit court space and other related needs is now being considered.
Cantrell believes a jail expansion, above and beyond the covid-related work being considered, is inevitable.
He said he also favors exploring alternatives to incarceration, like adding a mental health court as a diversionary court, much like drug court and veterans court. He said the Sheriff’s Office is already expanding its program to release pretrial detainees using ankle monitors, and he favors other ideas that might speed up the court system and reduce the time detainees spend in the jail awaiting trial or other resolutions of their cases.
WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF
Incomplete and unofficial results are:
Jay Cantrell (R) 15,524 77%
Jovey Marshall (R) 2,730 13%
For latest results go to nwaonline.com/nwavote.