This year’s midterm election had many historical firsts across the country, and Delaware County was no exception.
While there were a variety of new positions won, this election marked the first time an incumbent Delaware County sheriff was unseated since 1944, according to the sheriff-elect’s website.
On Nov. 6, 2018, Republican Tony Skinner, a sergeant in the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office defeated Democratic incumbent Sheriff Ray Dudley by securing 52.7 percent of the county’s vote, states Delaware County’s election summary report.
Skinner said there was a “strange dynamic” to running in an election against his soon-to-be-former boss.
“[There] was a little bit of friction from time to time,” Skinner said. “I had to watch what I say. I had to promise the whole time to run a clean campaign.”
But since administrators work the day shift and Skinner worked the midnight shift, there wasn’t as much confrontation, Skinner said.
One of the top platforms on which he campaigned was changing the way the sheriff’s office fights the county’s drug problem, Skinner said.
Skinner said people need to understand that his office, unlike the Drug Enforcement Administration or the federal government, has very limited resources, both financially and with manpower. In office, he wants to be “pin-point accurate” with targeting large-scale drug dealers and traffickers.
“[If] we just go pick the low-hanging fruit all the time, then we’re not getting to the root of the problem,” Skinner said. “I want to cut the head of the snake, not the tail of the snake.”
Skinner said he intends to go after the combination of local drug dealers and traffickers and outsiders who live in the county temporarily.
“There’s not just one snake,” Skinner said. “There’s a hierarchy, and I want to go after the big guys.”
Skinner said the drug problem is something that’s always existed, with the drug of choice changing in two- to four-year cycles.
“If any law enforcement official ever tells you they’re going to solve the drug problem, they’re lying to you,” Skinner said. “We’re never going to eliminate it, but we have to do a better job of containing it.”
Another issue the sheriff-elect hopes to address is the overcrowding of the county’s jail.
Skinner said the Delaware County Commissioners’ $45 million plan to convert the ASONS/Wilson Middle School building into a new jail, makes the most sense economically because expanding the Delaware County Justice Center in downtown Muncie is not a viable option and other proposals would cost a minimum of $65 million.
Skinner’s plans also include taking politics out of law enforcement when it comes to hiring and promoting and reassigning personnel.
While Ball State Police Department (UPD) is the primary law enforcement agency on Ball State’s campus, the sheriff’s office and UPD work collectively when in need of services like bomb disposal units, the county SWAT team and special events on campus, said Jim Duckham, UPD’s chief of police and Ball State’s director of public safety.
“It’ll be interesting to see the changes that they make,” Duckham said. “I’m looking forward to working with the sheriff.”
Skinner said UPD and the sheriff’s office have a great working relationship and they will continue working together to serve the citizens of Delaware County, including college students.
“I don’t look at myself as a politician,” said Skinner, who holds a master’s degree in public administration from Ball State. “I’m just a cop that has what I feel are good leadership skills.”
Contact Rohith Rao with comments at rprao@bsu.edu or on Twitter @RaoReports.
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