Pickaway County sheriff’s race still undecided
Headed into a final count and election certification
For 86 of the past 90 years, a Radcliff has worn the sheriff’s star in Pickaway County. Three generations of the family – the late Charles Radcliff from 1931 through 1960, his son, the late Dwight from 1965 through 2012, and now Dwight’s son, Robert, since taking office in January 2013.
But the law-enforcement dynasty could soon be ending: Radcliff, a Democrat, trails his Republican opponent by 262 votes (13,694 to 13,432). There are still 771 provisional votes to be counted and verified and as many as 407 outstanding absentee ballots could still count as long as they meet the postmarked-by date.
The Pickaway County Board of Elections said Friday that it won’t announce a final vote total until it meets on Nov. 18 to certify the results.
But Radcliff’s challenger, retired Circleville police Sgt. Matthew Hafey, says he doesn’t think the ultimate outcome will change and he is continuing work on a plan to transition the office. He said he recognizes that unseating a Radcliff to some seemed an impossible task.
“I’d run into people who would say, ‘Oh, my granddaddy used to hunt with Robby’s granddaddy’ and I knew I wasn’t going to change their mind,” said the 46-year-old Hafey, who retired early a year ago specifically to run for sheriff. “It was that important to me, to make a change.”
Radcliff, however, is keeping the faith that enough yet-uncounted votes will put him on top. Either way, he said he is prepared for the outcome.
“We’ve been fortunate the people of Pickaway county trusted us and believed in us to do the job all these years. But it was never our office. It was the people’s office,” said Radcliff, 58. “I’m more worried about the people who work for me. This just leaves everyone in limbo awhile longer.”
The Pickaway County sheriff’s office, which includes operating a 110-bed jail, has an annual budget of about $8 million and about 100 employees.
Hafey ran on a message of change and cooperation, saying that Radcliff’s operation didn’t work well with other agencies. He had the endorsement of the Teamsters Union, which represents jail employees.
Radcliff campaigned on accomplishments, pointing to a successful implementation of a school-resource officer program, a buildup of K-9 programs and technology advances at the office in recent years. His endorsements included the local FOP union.
But the campaigning is over and the endorsements are old news.
So now, everyone waits.
Hafey said “it’s in God’s hands” but that he is ready to get to work.
“I just want people to now how dedicated I am to making Pickaway County better,” he said. “I grew up here and I want it to be safe.”
For Radcliff, it is an emotional time even without being on tenterhooks about the outcome. His father died in May at the age of 87. During his tenure, Dwight earned the distinction of being the longest-serving sheriff in the nation. He had spent 48 years as Pickaway
County sheriff before retiring at the end of 2012 after his son was elected.
Radcliff said Friday that he doesn’t see the close vote as a rebuke on what he has done as sheriff but instead thinks politics — and a Republican red wave — played a role.
Yet he cannot help but already be a little melancholy over the possibility of what could be ahead. The sheriff’s office, after all, is all he’s ever known. He was two years old when his family moved into the sheriff’s residence that also was the county jail, and he started working for his dad at the age of 18.
“I still remember the days of tapping on the wall and the prisoners tapping back,” he said. “But everything comes to an end at some point. It was never going to go on forever. If the people say that time is now ... I respect their right to make that decision. That is what this country is about.” hzachariah@dispatch.com @hollyzachariah