Keefe Blatchley for Sheriff of Jasper County, SC

My friends, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Keefe D. Blatchley, Sr., and, like many of you, I am a proud product of Jasper County, South Carolina. I grew up in the Calf Pen area of Pineland. I am happily married to my wonderful wife and best friend Amanda Williams Blatchley. We have two children at home: KJ, age 7, and Kaylynn, age 4. They attend Step of Faith Christian Academy. We have three adult children and two grandsons. We live in the same home near Ridgeland that my wife grew up in.

Wanting to put God, family, and responsibility to my home county at the forefront, I have decided to run for Sheriff of Jasper County.

Keefe Blatchley for Sheriff Jasper County SC

It is time for all of us in Jasper County, as a community, to work together for the safety of our county. I am a citizen just like you, and I am sick of what is going on here in our community.

Over the past eight years since the current sheriff took office, we in Jasper County have had many (I said many) unsolved murders. Four were recently killed in the Tuten Landing area, and one was a good friend of mine. One of my customers was brutally murdered in Wagon Branch. I could go on. We have had more murders in the county between 2008 and now than at any period in the history of Jasper County.

I too have been a victim of the crime in our county. My business has been broken into, and my vehicles have also been broken into and damaged. My lawn tractor was stolen from my shed. Even my service truck was stolen, costing me several thousands of dollars. Meanwhile, our young people are dying in our streets, and our older people are afraid to live in their homes. We all have been touched by this.

From 1989 to 1995, I served as a law enforcement officer with the Ridgeland Police Department, and my record speaks for itself. I risked my life a number of times and I saved many lives during my course of duty. I can bridge the gap between the citizens and the Sheriff and his department.

As Sheriff, I will invite all Jasper County law enforcement agencies to be a part of working together as one. When I was in law enforcement, we were all one big family, and I will work to unite us back as one again. And to first concentrate on our county's drug problem, I will bring back a drug task force team in Jasper County like the Sting Team we had back in the early 90s.

My friends, this is my pledge to you:

As Sheriff, I will expand the cost-efficient officers reserve program to add more deputies for nighttime patrol and put two officers in each patrol vehicle so they will always have backup. I will mark all department vehicles as Sheriff's patrol cars and make sure all officers wear regular uniformed attire. In return, I will expect the highest work ethics from the most professional law enforcement officers around. After all, they will be representing me in the community. I intend to retain the employees who are currently working for the department, pending a six-month evaluation of each employee.
I will put in place a Sheriff's advisory committee and ask one person to represent each community - Robertville, Pineland, Gillsonville, Old House, Levy, and so on - and work together on the crime problems we are facing. I will work to foster community relationships and awareness of the crimes that occur in our county. The people of Jasper County want a Sheriff that will listen to them. I have many plans to help plant the seeds of trust among the people in each of their communities. Although we all are the same in God's eyes, we all have our own ways of life, and we must recognize that Sun City's community is not the same as Pineland's. I will keep an open door for all.
I will set up a crime website and post every wanted person in Jasper County including a picture of each wanted person and what they are wanted for. I would also like to develop a new Sheriff's Office cell phone app that will warn the public about major crimes. We will use all means at our disposal to combat our growing crime issues. Many of you know that my service truck was stolen, and when I posted pictures of the truck on Facebook, a fireman responded to my post and said he had seen my truck early that morning in the Walmart parking lot. I worked with the Sheriff's department to retrieve my truck and placed the person responsible behind bars no more than five hours later. Over the years, I have helped our law enforcement on many occasions with intel on crime and wanted persons that I have gathered through Facebook. Many people would message me privately with information on crimes in our community. This is a new type of law enforcement and it works and helps bridge the gap of trust between police and the community.
I will maintain a Jasper County community stolen item website that will have a current list of items that have been stolen and where the items were stolen in our county. That way, if anyone has seen those items, if they saw any unfamiliar people or vehicles at the time of incidents, or if they know someone is trying to sell those items, they can give that information to the department. Citizens will be able to notify my designated agent, or me directly, in confidence, without fear of any retribution.
I intend to work very hard for the dedicated men and women in the Sheriff's department to get them the best equipment and pay increases they deserve. Many officers have told me they have to work one or two extra jobs to support their families. This hinders their ability to protect lives and property and it is unacceptable.
I will bring back fiscal responsibility to the Sheriff's department. The 2016 JCSO budget shows that spending is out of control. I will use my business expertise to restructure the department's spending on vehicle maintenance, fuel, and telephone service.
I will work closely each week with local news stations and newspapers, keeping them informed of the crimes that are being committed in Jasper County. I will also work closely with local police departments and share information as it comes in.

In 2012, I filed to run for Sheriff as a Democrat. I was however kept off the primary ballot due to a paperwork technicality that affected over 200 candidates across South Carolina. Greg Jenkins beat Democratic challenger Sam Woodward in the primary runoff by only 200 votes to become the Democratic candidate. In the meantime, I gathered over 1,100 signatures from Jasper County residents to run as an independent petition candidate in November. In that 2012 election, nearly half of Jasper County's voters voted straight-ticket Democrat, but I still won 34% of the vote - 3,089 votes to Jenkins's 6,048.

I tell you this to stress how important it is to come together as one and vote for Keefe Blatchley in the Democratic primary on June 14th. As we saw in 2012, Greg Jenkins can be beaten in the runoff, especially by someone with a broad base of support as I have. But to get there we need to do very well in the June 14th primary. If I become the Democratic candidate in June, we can easily win the general election in November.

For the past 20 years, I have operated Blatchley Brake & Tire in Ridgeland. I have learned how to run, control, and organize a business and how to allocate the funds that are available to maximize the business's potential. I have had to manage employees, maintain budgets, conduct inventory and, most importantly, help the public solve their problems. All of my business's financial decisions have been solely my own under my own leadership.

One of the most important things about owning a successful business is earning your customers' trust. For a Sheriff, this is a must. Trust is earned, not given, and it takes years of hard work. As Sheriff, I will first bring back TRUST between the Sheriff's department and the citizens of Jasper County.

Like you, my family and I have a lot invested here in Jasper County. We have deep roots here that we hope to pass on to our children, as many of you do as well. My investment in our families' safety is paramount in my life now. We must seek safety and a better quality of life here in Jasper County that will bring more businesses, jobs, and opportunities to our community.

Let's take Jasper County back!
Let's make Jasper County safe again!