The main concerns and how newly-elected sheriff Rogers hopes to clean up Lenoir County
Retired North Carolina State Trooper Jackie Rogers won by nearly 2,000 votes on election night and will become the next Lenoir County sheriff, taking down two-term Democratic Sheriff Ronnie Ingram.
When it was all over Rogers, a Republican, finished with 10,189 votes or 54.90% over Ingram’s tally of 8,370 and 45.10%.
Some of the main issues Rogers was concerned about in Lenoir County came down to the drug problems and manpower need to effectively operate the office. After he is sworn in on Dec. 5, Rogers said he will also look to immediately address the rash of gang-related violence in Kinston and Lenoir County and try to get illegal firearms off the street.
“Crime and gun activity are on the rise,” Rogers said. “So, I wanted to get out in front of it. I said I was going to run on those standards. I want to be more proactive on these issues before they actually occur.”
He said investigating and implementing evaluations to determine where the guns are coming from is paramount to ending a crime wave he describes as “horrible here.” He said at this time he wasn’t sure how people – especially juveniles are getting their hands on these firearms.
Even though he came out on top, he said he really wasn’t sure what the result was going to be. This was his first election and he unseated a two-term incumbent.
“Yeah, it was uncertain. I know we had a lot of support and a lot of people pushing us. But we worked hard and campaigned for over a year. We just didn’t know what to expect.” Rogers said.
He said he has not worked directly with Sheriff Ingram, but said he received a call congratulating him on his win and expects the transition to run smoothly.
Rogers wants to hit the ground running and be ready to work, he told The Free Press.
“I just want the people of Lenoir County to know that they elected me to do a job and I want to do that job, and I am going to do it to the best of my ability and hope to make them proud.”
Excitement was what he felt, he said when the votes came in and said he didn’t have any reservations about the job. In addition, he said citizens were “expecting change” and said he is going to provide that.
The Free Press reached out to Ingram for comment regarding the race but was unsuccessful.
Rogers, 51, is married to his wife Dawn and has two sons Drew and Carson. He received his education from Pitt Community College. As a former police officer for the city of Kinston for 8 years, Rogers served in several different titles. He was a member of the Police Community Action Team, Narcotics Detective, numerous drug task forces, SWAT team and field training officer.
Rogers is currently a Code Enforcement Officer for the city of Kinston, according to the website.
This article originally appeared on Kinston/Jones Free Press: How newly-elected sheriff Rogers hopes to clean up Lenoir County
