WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) - Longtime Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton is unopposed to seek re-election, paving the way for him to potentially become the state’s longest serving sheriff on record.
Talton, 87, qualified Monday (March 2) to seek re-election, and no one filed to run against him by the noon qualifying deadline, said Andy Holland, registration/election assistant for the Houston County Board of Elections.
That means Talton will have no opposition in the May primary or November election unless there’s a write-in candidate in the November election, Holland said.
Talton, a Republican, said he’s running again because “I love my job.
“I love serving the people of Houston County. I’ve never forgotten that the office of sheriff belongs to the people of Houston County, and I just represent the people,” Talton said. “I’ve got a good department, good personnel all the way through. … I just appreciate the opportunity to serve.”
Talton, who first took office Jan. 1, 1973, is currently the longest “actively serving” sheriff in Georgia, according to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association and has been in office more than 47 years.
Talton had shared that distinction with Chattahoochee County Sheriff Glynn Cooper, according the sheriffs’ association. Cooper, who also took office Jan. 1, 1973, decided not to seek re-election and stepped down at the end of 2016.
The late Twiggs County Sheriff Earl Hamrick is thought to be the longest serving sheriff in Georgia’s history, according to the sheriff’s association. Hamrick served about 48 years as sheriff before he retired.
Talton was a dairy farmer and former county commissioner, including two terms as chairman, before he was elected sheriff. He had no prior law enforcement experience and became a self-made lawman.
Already a successful businessman from the dairy farm he and his father started together in 1957, Talton felt he had the experience to manage the department. Seeing himself as an administrator, Talton left the dairy business behind. One of his sons, Neal Talton, now owns and runs the farm.
Cullen Talton campaigned on bringing professionalism to the department, and he placed people in administrative positions that have served their careers at the sheriff’s department. His second-in-command Chief Deputy Billy Rape was among them.
Rape attributed Talton’s success to the way he operates.
“He told us the day we went in - in 1973 - that the determination on how long we stayed depended on how we treated people in doing our jobs, and 40-plus years later, that’s still true,” Rape said. “He still listens to everybody who wants to talk to him and he has an open-door policy.”
From a management perspective, Talton hires capable people and allows them to do their jobs without micromanagement and that helps with longevity, Rape said.
Talton has often said that he doesn’t believe in micro-management and often credits his success to the men and women who serve under his command.
“My success belongs to the people who work in the sheriff’s department,” Talton said Friday. “If it hadn’t been for good employees like I have I probably wouldn’t have been here nearly as long. But my employees have played a big role in keeping me in the office of sheriff.”
Talton was named sheriff of the year by the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association last year. He’s faced opposition only three times during his career as sheriff.
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