Pickens County voters will be asked to decide Tuesday between incumbent Sheriff David Stone and two Republican challengers. Following are their profiles and their responses to questions asked by the Daily Journal/Messenger.

C. David Stone, 71

Marital Status/Children: Wife – Donna; 2 daughters; 1 grandchild

Education: Associate De-gree in Criminal Justice; FBI National Academy

Occupation: Sheriff

Public offices held/years: Sheriff, Pickens County/39 years

Community/Church involvements: Mason, Shriner / Pickens First Baptist Church

Brian M. Garrett, 47

Marital Status/ Children: Married with 2 Adult Children

Education: Attended Southern Wesleyan University/ Major Business Management

Occupation: Law Enforcement

Public Offices Held: Uniform Patrol Deputy/ Property Crime Investigator/ Arson Investigator

Church Involvement: Attend Faith Renewed Outreach Center/ Greenville

Experience: uniform patrol Deputy/ Property Crimes Investigator/ Arson Investigator/ C.I.D. Investigator

Rick Clark, 41

Married to Tani/No children

Education: BS Clemson University. Masters Degree in Public Administration, joint degree from Clemson University and the University of South Carolina.

Occupation: Sergeant of Training and Accreditation, Clemson University Police Department

Former Deputy Sheriff in Pickens

Public Office: City Councilman, City of Liberty, 6 ½ years

Community/Church Involvements: Chairman of the Board of Directors, MARY’S House: a domestic violence shelter in Pickens County. I am a member of Rock Springs Baptist Church.

Affiliations or experience: Certified law enforcement instructor, firearms instructor, response to school active shooter instructor.

A diverse background in law enforcement, an elected position in local government, and the Chairman of a charitable organization gives me the diverse experience to solve problems in Pickens County.

One of the most successful aspects of my public service in the last year or so has been the writing and acquisition of grants for community projects and law enforcement. Over the past year we acquired a $ 1,500,000 water grant for the City of Liberty, over $70,000 for firefighting equipment for the City of Liberty, and over $100,000 for communications equipment for the Clemson University Police and Fire Departments, Central Fire Department, Liberty Fire Department, Clemson Police Department. This was in conjunction with an Anderson County Public Safety grant.

1) What do you feel makes you the best candidate for this office?

Clark: I feel that I am the best candidate for the job because of my diverse experience, education, and plain love of public service and community involvement. I am very lucky to be in the area of public service that gives me the opportunity and fulfillment to help others.

I am the only candidate that has the combined experience of being a “street supervisor” in law enforcement in Pickens County, former Deputy Sheriff, elected official, chairman of a charitable organization, law enforcement and firearms instructor, active shooter instructor, and a successful grant writer. Through each of these positions and experiences, I have learned how to address and solve community problems from poor water pressure to getting drug dealers off our streets.

Garrett: My experience with a large agency (the Grenville County Sheriff’s Office) has prepared me to lead the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office into the future. I feel that I understand what it will take to develop the Sheriff’s Office into an effective agency to face the future.

Stone: Experience in leading people and experience as a sheriff in one of the most respected, successful sheriff’s offices in South Carolina. I have been a part of every major investigation in Pickens County for almost four decades. Another tremendous asset is the team of people that I have that share my passion for the Sheriff’s Office; they’re seasoned, experienced officers, investigators, supervisors and employees. Experience can’t be bought, trained or taught; it can only be lived.

2) What changes, if any, would you foresee in your term in office that would directly impact the public’s interaction with this office?

Garrett: As Sheriff I would seek to improve the relationships between the citizens of Pickens County and the Sheriff’s Office. Leading by example I would work side by side with the Deputies to address crime in the county and familiarize myself with every aspect

Stone: The Sheriff’s Office interacts daily with the public in many ways, from working with school and church groups, civic and community organizations to problem solving in neighborhoods. We always have an open door and will speak with anyone without an appointment. I believe we have outstanding interaction and communication.

Clark: The main impact that citizens will see is the implementation of a community policing system that attacks crime directly in neighborhoods. I am going to give the power to the deputies on the street to develop community solutions to neighborhood problems. Good community policing plans can be destroyed by bureaucracy. The deputy in your neighborhood must take ownership of his or her community and work with local citizens and Sheriff’s Office resources to combat crime at the street level. It is a deputy in your neighborhood who can solve and prevent crimes, not a bureaucrat inside the Sheriff’s Office.

It is as simple as this. Two deputies know that there is a Meth house in their area. These deputies are going to have the power to call in the newly created Neighborhood Enforcement Team, narcotics officers and other resources to shut that Meth house down. It is the deputies in your neighborhoods that will have interaction with you that will address the crime problems in Pickens County.

3) If you are an incumbent, briefly summarize your accomplishments.

If you are a challenger or a newcomer to this office, briefly explain the issues you see and how you plan to address them?

Stone: The long, outstanding record of achievements and accomplishments of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is one of my greatest sources of pride. No one person can achieve much on their own; it is the combined efforts of a team that allow individuals and the organization to reach lofty goals. This is true of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and of my greatest accomplishment as Sheriff; it is the people that form our team that has made us successful, I am grateful to them for all our achievements as an agency.

Clark: The number one issue that is facing us is the explosion of methamphetamine (Meth) in the Upstate and Pickens County. Meth is at the base of many of the burglaries, thefts and robberies in Pickens County. As hard as our narcotics officers work, they can’t fight meth alone. Meth has to be fought by every division of the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. Under a community policing model, the community policing deputy will be able to bring in the Neighborhood Enforcement Team in conjunction with narcotics officers to put drug dealers in jail and get them off our streets. Can we eliminate Meth form Pickens County? NO! Can we make it so tough on Meth dealers that they will start leaving Pickens County or be in jail? YES! We have to have new energy in the Sheriff of Pickens County and an attitude of we are going to protect our citizens and we can prevent crime, not just respond to it.

Another campaign issue is community policing. We have lost touch with our communities in Pickens County. Our deputies are working hard but they are not being led to efficiently serve our communities. We must have a “Street Sheriff who is in our communities leading by example of how to get back to good old-fashioned community policing. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office must be based in our communities, not in a brick building in Pickens.

Garrett: There are several issues that need to be addressed of which are: illegal drugs, gangs, and illegal immigrants.

I plan to work hand in hand with the municipalities within the county to develop plans to deter and detect criminal activity and to develop methods of identifying repeat criminal offenders and drug dealers.

Apply for acceptance of this agency into the 287G program at which time an officer will be trained with Federal Funds to handle the criminal illegal aliens.

4) How would you make this office more accountable to the public?

Clark: I will have a Citizen’s Committee who will have access to all budget matters, crime analysis, and any other information requested to monitor the performance and issues relating to our community and the Sheriff’s Office. Every public official needs a citizen’s group to give input and watch over government entities.

We will also publish our five year plan and annual report on the website for all to see the information that citizens need to know

Garrett: Accountability to the citizens of Pickens County will come with the development of a new mind set. The concern, and caring at which we handle their case and effort we put forth in solving their cases. Treating the victim the way we would want to be treated if we the officer were the victim.

Stone: The public receives most of their information through the media. I think any media representative will attest that this office is very open, honest and makes an outstanding effort in providing information to inform and educate the public on matters of interest and safety. We have a very open policy and will speak with any member of the public about their concerns.

5) How would you make this office more accessible to the public?

Garrett: I intend to have and open door policy to the public making myself available to address their problems and concerns personally.

Stone: We constantly look for ways to improve service, adapt to changing environments and serve the needs of the county. Accessibility is no different. In addition to always being open to the media and the public, our office consistently has a representative at community meetings, neighborhood watch programs, civic gatherings and other activities. I believe our office is very accessible to the public and my door has always been open.

Clark: As explained in the issues question, you can see that I will use community policing to get the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office back in touch with our community. We will be meeting with our citizens in their neighborhoods and relying on each other to make Pickens County safe for the future.

I will be a Sheriff who is on the streets with his people answering calls and addressing community problems in the neighborhoods of Pickens County. I can’t stay in an office all day. I have to be with my people when possible. When the Sheriff is working in your neighborhood, he is readily accessible to you!

6) Describe your fiscal philosophy and what taxpayers can expect to get for their money under your leadership.

Stone: My office has always researched and applied for grants anytime the opportunity existed for new personnel, equipment or technology. We have had contracts with other agencies such as the Corp of Engineers, US Marshals and others to offset the cost to Pickens County citizens. In our budget, my policy has always been to ask for only what was needed to efficiently carry out our duties, not to inflate our request in hopes of getting half of what we asked for. Its easy for some to blame me for not having all of the latest bells and whistles technology (which most agencies do not have), but it’s the taxpayers that foot the bill and we only request what we need to effectively do the job.

Clark: I am a fiscal conservative. As a city councilman, I have had to raise taxes slightly to keep up with skyrocketing cost. I was also able to get a tax decrease passed as a City Councilman. That is unheard of in local government. I will seek out every way to get the most efficiency out of the Sheriff’s Office. As energy prices increase we will have to look alternative cars and fuels. I will do innovative controlled test on how we can get deputies in the community at the lowest rate.

I will eliminate and realign positions at the Sheriff’s Office to put deputies on the street without an initial tax increase.

It is time law enforcement strives for taxpayer efficiency just as every business and home owner does in Pickens County.

Garrett: : I am a true conservative and as a taxpayer myself I intend to hold the Sheriff’s Office spending to a minimum. I will treat the money in the Sheriff’s Office budget as if it were my own and spend it wisely. There are many items that are and will be necessary for the Sheriff’s Office to run efficiently and effectively from the present to the future and I will attempt to obtain Government Grants to pay for the majority of these expenditures. Most of these grants require the receiving agency to pay a small percentage (10 %) of the amount that is issued and I feel this is a small cost that is worth the effort for the reward.