Four announce plans to run for Sheriff of Jefferson County

As of last week four individuals have announced plans to run for Sheriff of Jefferson County during the 2024 election: current Sheriff Gary Hutchins, Colby Harrell, Henry “Tre” Lewis III and John Maynard.

Official qualifying for the May 21st general primary will open Monday, March 4 and ends at noon on Friday, March 8.

Incumbent Sheriff Gary Hutchins 

"I believe I have a proven track record for the past 32 years,” Hutchins said. “I have been on different boards and held different offices statewide. Meeting the right people over the years has been beneficial in being able to get needed resources for our department.”

Hutchins has served on the Board of Directors of the Columbia County Advisory Board for approximately 15 years providing training for all law enforcement, the Board of POST Council in Atlanta that oversees all law enforcement in the State of Georgia, Board of Directors for the Swainsboro Technical College (five years) and Oconee Fall Line Technical College (11 years).

He served one year as the President of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association during which he traveled the state making contacts and helping to solve problems in other counties. Hutchins currently serves on the Board of Director’s for the Georgia Sheriff’s Association as well as its chaplain.

He taught Sunday School at Glendale Nursing Home for 42 years until the COVID pandemic struck.

During his years as sheriff, he has implemented a chapel service, GED classes, drug education with individual and group classes, drug court that offers counseling for addicts and a pre-trial diversion program for first offenders.

“My experience as business owner prepared me to prepare and stay within a budget,” Hutchins said. “I am vested in my county. I am a property owner and a taxpayer. I value our tax dollars.”

Over the years, Hutchins said, he has eased the burden on the community’s taxpayers by generating millions of dollars housing and transporting federal prisoners as well as those from other local law enforcement agencies.

“We utilize funds seized during drug seizures to purchase needed equipment for our department,” Hutchins said. “Our top priority is our youth. We try to make every connection we can to make sure they know we are their friends.

“As always, my office will be run professionally and efficiently with honesty and integrity that our citizens deserve. The person who holds the position of sheriff should have a proven track record, be stable and have a high set of morals. I appreciate the confidence the people of our county have put in me, and I will continue to put the citizens of Jefferson County my top priority.”

Colby Harrell 

Harrell, a native of Jefferson County, who graduated from Jefferson County High School in 1996, has been involved in law enforcement since 2003. He has worked with both the Jefferson County and Richmond County Sheriff’s Departments and was part of the Civilian Police (CIVPOL) Department of State (DOS) effort which served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an International Police Advisor.

While with Richmond County, Harrell was part of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team which served the greater Augusta area. He said that some of that team’s most successful actions lead to arrests in a large-scale gang-related gun buyback operation.

Harrell holds certifications in use of less lethal force, rapid active shooter response, bomb threats, gang recognition and abatement, and has completed several hours of training in both organizational leadership and best-fit law enforcement practices for rural communities.

Harrell said that he believes one of the best ways to support the county is to first support officers by providing top tier training so, “everyone can live healthy lives both physically and mentally while serving their communities.”

His has said that his primary priorities as sheriff, would be to elevate the department’s manpower and to implement a Gang Resistance Education Program for at-risk youth.

Henry “Tre” Lewis, III 

A resident of Louisville, Lewis, currently serves with the Richmond County Marshall’s Office in their felony unit, has over 20 years of combined experience in law enforcement, Fortune 500 companies, private detective agencies, government agencies and security firms. He is also a SWAT trained Police Officer, a Level 3 GAPOST Senior instructor, an instructor with the Georgia Board of Private Detective and Security Agency, and an active shooter instructor with ALERT, (Active Law Enforcement Emergency Response Training). He has over 3,120 hours of law enforcement training.

Lewis said that he was born and raised in Jefferson County and has noticed that over the past few years crime has significantly increased there.

“My wife and I have three loving children who deserve to live and learn in a safe community. Your childre deserve this as well,” Lewis said last week. “Together we can make this happen.”

Lewis served as a Chief Deputy Sheriff in Taliaferro County where he worked from 2021 to 2022 where he assisted in the day-to-day management and operations of the department, budget planning, formulation of department objectives, conducted internal affairs investigations and was awarded the office’s Life Saving Hero Award.

From 2015-2020 Lewis worked as a Special Agent III with the State of Georgia’s Criminal Investigation Division where he investigated homicides and other crimes against persons and served on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s ICAC taskforce.

Lewis has also served on an FBI task force where he was awarded top secret clearance and investigated underage prostitution, child sexual exploitation enterprises, child sex tourism, child abductions, the production of child pornography and the sex trafficking of minors.

He has worked with the City of Clarkston as a watch commander and detective, with the City of Union Point as a Police Supervisor and as a criminal justice adjunct professor with ITT Technical Institute.

“What really matters in this election is how we are going to move Jefferson County forward,” Lewis said. “I have no ill will toward the current administration; however, I have been preparing for this role my entire life.”

John Maynard 

Maynard, currently serving as Police Chief of Wrens, recently announced his intention to run for sheriff on social media.

"It is my ultimate goal to make Jefferson County a more unified and safer community for all of those who live, work, play and travel through this county,” he said. “We must bridge the gap between law enforcement and the community as a whole and we can do this by having transparency and accountability within our agency.”

Maynard has 25 years of experience in public safety, 20 as a certified law enforcement officer. He currently serves as the District 7 Representative to the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and is a certified peer support counselor with Georgia’s Department of Public Safety.

He has had 60 hours of chief executive training, 80 hours as a Georgia POST Instructor, 40 hours of crisis intervention training, 40 hours as a field training officer and 40 hours of officer survival training.

Maynard has ALERRT Active Shooter Patrol Rifle training, field sobriety and ARIDE training for DUI cases, holds radar/lidar certification, courtroom testimony training, mental health and first aid training, and holds FEMA certifications in NIMS 100, 200, 700.

“We must also address the gun and the gang violence that is taking our young men at an alarming rate,” Maynard said. “Together, we can do more. This isn’t just about what I can do, this is about what we can do together to bring Jefferson County up to the forefront of the CSRA.”

Maynard said that aside from being a police chief, he is also a pastor, a husband and a father.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Four announce plans to run for Sheriff of Jefferson County