By By GREG KATSKI
Community Editor
Incumbent Sheriff Alan Jordan will have a familiar foe in this year’s election.
Donald Dixon, a former deputy with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, is campaigning for Jordan’s post for the second time in four years.
In 2006, Dixon lost to the longtime sheriff in the Democratic primary. This election, he is running as a Republican.
“I’ve always voted as a Republican,” Dixon said.
Dixon joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1998, shortly before Jordan was elected to the high post. Dixon said he started as a patrolman, was promoted to sergeant and left the Sheriff’s Office in 2003 as a corporal. He was Northside High School’s resource officer for several years.
Asked why he left the department, Dixon said, “It was a fantastic job. I just couldn’t take the hypocrisy anymore.”
Attempts to reach Jordan were unsuccessful.
Dixon said that under Jordan, the Sheriff’s Office has wasted money and resources.
Dixon was particularly critical of the time, effort and money the department has put into maintaining accreditation with CALEA (The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies).
CALEA’s Web site states that its goals are to strengthen crime prevention and control capabilities, formalize essential management procedures, establish fair and nondiscriminatory personnel practices, improve service delivery, solidify interagency cooperation and coordination and increase community and staff confidence in the agency.
The accreditation is worth “absolutely nothing,” according to Dixon.
As pointed out by Dixon, the BCSO is one of three sheriff’s offices in the state to be awarded accreditation.
“Does that mean the other 97 (agencies) are too ignorant to do it? No, they’re too smart to do it,” he said.
Dixon said deputies with the Sheriff’s Office should spend less time working on interior issues, such as accreditation, and more time patrolling the county.
“In my opinion, there need to be more officers on the road,” he said.
Dixon called it a safety issue.
“An officer should never have to go to a domestic call by himself,” he said.
Dixon said the safety of his deputies and the people of Beaufort County would be his main concern if elected.
He also said a Dixon-run Sheriff’s Office would be more accessible to the public and media.
“I’m not looking to hide anything,” Dixon said.
He accused the current sheriff of letting his deputies and fellow elected officials take the blame for his mistakes.
“Alan has done that constantly,” Dixon said.
He cited that as a reason for the turnover in personnel at the BCSO.
According to a report on employee separation provided by Dixon, the BCSO has had a total of 71 resignations since 2004.
“If any other business had the turnover the Sheriff’s Office has, they would’ve been bankrupt a long time ago,” he said.
Dixon acknowledged the daunting task before him of unseating the popular incumbent Jordan.
“The biggest problem you have against an incumbent is the general public doesn’t know what’s going on on the inside,” he said, adding that sheriffs, unlike most other elected officials, don’t have voting records for registered voters to review prior to making an informed decision.
Dixon hopes to make an impression with his campaign Web site, which includes background information and his stance on certain issues.
Dixon graduated from Washington High School, got his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Mount Olive College and his master’s degree in criminal justice from East Carolina University.
He is the owner of East Coast Heating and Air Conditioning, and is a licensed private investigator. He carries out private investigations through Pirate Investigations.