John Farmer said he rises most mornings about 5:30 a.m. and his day ends about midnight. His cell phone never stops ringing. But now his day is filled with talking to Wilson residents and letting them know about his ideas for running the sheriff's office, if elected.
"I've been in different communities throughout Wilson County on a daily basis, just talking to citizens, hearing their concerns," Farmer said. "I tell them what I stand for and who John Farmer is."
Farmer said he delivers signs to people who want them and even makes house calls to talk to Wilson residents when they request it. "If I am riding and I see someone in their yard, I walk up to them and introduce myself to them," Farmer said.
Daily, Farmer said he goes out to put up signs with his volunteers all over the county, and nobody is paid.
"I understand some people are accusing me of paying people to work for me to put up signs. I wish I had that kind of money to pay people to put up signs," Farmer said. "There is no one being paid on my campaign at all."
In fact, Farmer said most people who work with his campaign have put their own money into the campaign.
Farmer said he ignores rumors and the few bloggers who spread untrue stories. "There is a small, small group of people that love to blog and love to say stuff that's not the truth, and we know it, about both candidates," Farmer said. "The thing is it needs to go in one ear and out the other."
One such comment, Farmer said, is that Sheriff Gay will still run the sheriff's office behind the scenes if Farmer is elected. Nothing can be further from the truth, Farmer said.
"Sheriff Gay has had his tenure - his tenure is coming to an end," Farmer said. "There's going to be a new sheriff in town. And if it's John Farmer, there is no one, no one that is going to control John Farmer."
Farmer said he is the one who will be responsible for public safety for the people of Wilson County, the actions of the deputies and the detention officers. "I am the one that when something goes wrong, I am going to have to answer to it," Farmer said. "I don't need nobody over my head calling any shots and there won't be anybody over my head calling any shots."
Farmer said he is excited about the upcoming Wilson Times-sponsored debate and believes people who see the debate will get a chance to see he is the most qualified candidate. "What makes me the most qualified candidate is that I've got the education, I've got the training and I've got the experience," Farmer said.
In his training, Farmer said he has 2,000 hours of law enforcement administrative training, FBI Academy and Wilson Community College management institute. In addition, Farmer said, he has been a hands-on major in the sheriff's office in operations in the field and has been intricately involved with the day-to-day running of the sheriff's office from the budget to personnel issues for 12 years.
"My opponent cannot say any of that," Farmer said. "He has never supervised a first person, he has never managed a major case, he has never worked narcotics - he doesn't even know how to work narcotics, as far as I know."
Glen W. Williams said he will be voting for Farmer in November. "I like John," Williams said. "I don't really know him, but I think Woodard is too young and doesn't have the experience. I hear about change, but you don't change what isn't broken. John has been there and knows what is going on and can keep things running smooth." Williams said he is concerned that deputies haven't gotten a raise, and thinks the county should find a way to give raises.
Farmer said many of the people he has spoken with want to know what he's going to do for the deputies to keep quality people. "You've just got to make sure that when you are an administrator that you have an open line of communication with your employees," Farmer said. "That you lead by example. That you make sure that employees have a good working environment, a good schedule." Farmer said those conditions already exist in the sheriff's office.
But he won't be able to give deputies a raise this year, if elected, because he said the budget is already set.
"We've got to look at 2011 budget, we've got to look where we can maybe cut some corners to make some money available," Farmer said. "With these economic times we are going through, nobody can really say what's going to happen."
* Article & photo appeared in Wilson Times written by Janet Conner-Knox, Wilson Times staff reporter. Click here to follow the comments.
4 comments:
In the past I was a supporter of Sheriff Gay and his Dept. But his actions and comments after he lost the election caused me to see things n a different light. In this election, a lot has been written and said about our WCSD and how it has been run. I have heard and read of many things that supposedly has occured under the current administration. Now Mr. Farmer says he is qualified and Mr. Woodard is not because he has been intricate in the daily running of the WCSD and personnel issues. From what has been written and things I have heard said, it is apparent something occured between two employees there that involved sexual misconduct whle on the job. But it seems the only thing that was done about it was one of the employees was fired or quit? If Mr. Farmer is so intricately involved in day to day personel issues for the last 12 years, why was it handled as if nothing happened. It says one of two things, either he didnt know about it, which shows how on top of things he really is. Or he knew and said well one is gone so its done. Either way is not the way I would want my department run. I think either candiate is qualified, and will proablly do a reasonalbly good job. But Mr. Farmer needs to make sure he knows his house is clean before he belittles Mr, Woodard. And from the stories circulating itis not clean.
I think you covered the bases very well. John Farmer needs a reality check. If he really thinks that he has done a good job, he needs to take another look. Does he not realize that the low morale is because of the actions of Wayne Gay and himself? In the fire department, when people are past their usefulness, they call them deadwood. Wonder what they call people in law enforcement that are past their usefulness? I think John Farmer is running scared that the truth about the department will come out when Calvin Woodard is elected Sheriff. Sure would hate it if they put Gay and Farmer in the same cell. Now wouldn't that be interesting.
Very ture, how can you be number 2 in the department and not have heard what happened inthe detective buiding? At the very least whan a employee walks in and (resigns?) withno notice amist the rumors that weregoing around, and you are in charge of personel issues as he has stated, how can you not investigate? MAybe he did and just said, we half the problem is gone lets dont make waves. No I am afraid withFarmer it willbe more bussiness as usual and the detective buildingwill continue to moonlight as the local no tell motel. Sad but true. The proof? Mr. Bass still works there.
I have a question for Mr. Farmer. You have said you were in cahrg of personel issues for many years. You have also said you have no tollerance for deputies doing things illegal or immoral. You were the number 2 man in the department when the incident we have all been reading about concerning J T Bass and his secratary. It is pretty eveident if she came in and told what happened and resigned that it was a serious incident. If what has been said and written is true, phone calls, texts, email,all of sexaul nature and actual sexual encounters, at work then how if you meant what you said at the debate, hw is it Bass still has a job? It seems either you knew all this and chse to do nothing about it, which goes against hat you said. Or you knew nothing about what happened which makes you incompetant. If someone can do what Bass alegedly has done and keep his job, it says a lot about those in charge. And at the time Mr. Farmer that was you. And what you did, and what oyu say you will do, were two very different paths.
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