Published: August 27, 2008 11:08 am            

Kerns, Mathis say they are ready

Joel Kerns believes he knows why he won the Pittsburg County sheriff’s race on Tuesday and he can relate it in one word.

“Change,” he said.

“I figure people were ready for a change.”

Kerns, a former sheriff’s deputy, defeated Pittsburg County Underhseriff Richard Sexton by garnering 62 percent of the vote during the Tuesday Primary runoff election.

He and the other candidates who were on the ballot in Pittsburg County reacted to the election results Tuesday night.

This election cycle marked the second time that Kerns, of Bug Tussle, ran for Pittsburg County sheriff. He had been unsuccessful four years ago, but this time proved different.

Kerns shot to a significant lead as the absentee ballots were counted during the Democratic Primary Runoff Tuesday night and his lead grew as the night continued.

“We got more votes this time than during the primary,” Kerns said.

As well-wishers surrounded Kerns outside the Pittsburg County Election Board office after the votes had been counted, he said he’ll be ready to start work when he takes office in January.

He’s already selected an undersheriff —former Hartshorne police chief and retired dep. sheriff J.W. Young.

“He retired last October but he’s going to come back and work with us,” Kerns said.

Kerns said Young has the respect of officers and works well with the public. He noted that Young, who is also is a former correctional officer, has a lot of experience in law enforcement.

The sheriff-elect said some of the changes he has in mind won’t be very costlty.

“There are some things that can be done that aren’t very expensive,” Kerns said. “I feel that by motivation, I can get more out of my employees by listening to them and working with them.”

Kerns said he hopes he can do a good enough job that four years from now, those who voted for his opponent will support him.

“I’m proud of the way things turned out,” he said.

All of the candidates on the Tuesday ballot expressed appreciation for their supporters — both those who won and those who lost.

Sexton said he’s disappointed after devoting more than 20 years of his life to law enforcement, but he accepted the loss with grace.

“It’s not the end of the road,” he said. “The good Lord has blessed me and my faith is very strong. I’m very happy with what I’ve done; I’ve helped a lot of people.”

Sexton said the new sheriff will face a lot of challenges. He also said the campaign had been stressful.

“I’m relieved this is no longer on my shoulders,” Sexton said.

He’s looking forward to soon having more free time.

“I’ve missed numerous ball games and functions with my kids that I regret to this day,” Sexton said. He noted he will soon have more time to attend such family-related events.

“Now, I’ll move on and do what the Lord wants,” Sexton said.

In the District 3 race for Pittsburg County commissioner, Donald Mathis had been pleased to get nearly 54 percent of the vote in his Democratic Primary Runoff Election against Trent Myers.

“I’m thrilled,” said Mathis, who is the road foreman for District 1.

“We worked hard and it paid off. I’ve had a lot of good experience over the years.” Mathis said he’s worked well with District 1 County Commissioner Gene Rogers and he’ll look forward to working with him now as a fellow commissioner.

Since Mathis won the race to fill the unexpired term of Randy Crone, who retired in April, he’s expected to take office next week. The election results won’t be certified until Friday.

“We’re going to get some things done that in the past, haven’t been done,” Mathis said. “We’ve got to prove ourselves.”

Myers said he considered the race close Tuesday night.

“All I can say is I ran a good clean race,” he said. “I worked hard and I don’t have any regrets.”

“I had a lot of friends helping me; we fell short by a few hundred votes.”

“I’ll continue to serve Pittsburg County as the emergency management director, as I always have.”

Pittsburg County Democratic Charman John Browne said all of the candidates deserved congratulations for running good races based on the issues.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.

        

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