Published Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:05 PM
Updated Tuesday, May 06, 2008 4:34 PM

 

Boatwright makes second bid for sheriff

If you didn’t know this is Terry Boatwright’s second run for Dorchester County Sheriff, you’re probably not alone.

“I had very little name recognition,” Boatwright says of his unsuccessful first bid to become the county’s chief law officer 12 years ago.

“But I think that’s changed,” he says.

Boatwright says he entered the 1996 sheriff’s race somewhat naively, “not knowing Dorchester County politics at the time,” he says. Current Sheriff Ray Nash would go on to win his first term in that election.

Fast forward to today, Nash has stepped aside after three terms and Boatwright is locked in a tight Republican primary race with L.C. Knight.

When Nash announced in January that he would retire and not seek re-election, Boatwright says he was encouraged to run.

“I found myself the most qualified in terms of education, background, training and experience,” he says.

Boatwright says he wants to move the sheriff’s office out from under a cloud of criticism.

For more than a year, Boatwright has served as the public safety director for the City of Folly Beach, overseeing both the police and fire departments.

“This is not about leaving Folly Beach, this is about serving the community I live in,” he says.

Boatwright moved to Dorchester County in 1992 — the same year he accepted a captain position with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. Previously, he was in the Army and later served as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force, where he worked as a special agent within the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.

During his 15 years with Charleston County, he served in various capacities. As a patrol commander, he managed 115 sworn personnel. He was promoted to major in the operations division where he managed 95 percent of the specialized units, 185 personnel and a $1 million budget.

Boatwright is a graduate of Session 221 of the FBI National Academy — a “finishing school” for law enforcement, he says — and an assessor with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

During the past 12 years as a CALEA assessor, Boatwright has completed 24 on-site visits. He says he helped lead the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office effort to become accredited in 1999.

Boatwright says the process is extremely challenging and stressful and one that not every agency is successful in completing. He says the process can be expensive but it bolsters credibility and lessens liability. He hopes to steer the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office toward accreditation and he says he’s in a better position than Knight to make it happen.

“It’s one thing to be a member of an agency that undergoes accreditation,” he says. “It’s another thing to lead the charge.”

Boatwright says matches up well against Knight because he is the only sheriff candidate with experience:

• as a first-responder

• managing sheriff’s office-related functions

• working with a governing council

Boatwright is working hard to forge his own path but he says there is a political attempt to portray him as an extension of Nash.

“That’s absurd,” he says.

They don’t go to the same church, aren’t in the same service clubs and rarely find themselves in the same social circles, Boatwright says.

Nash has endorsed Boatwright — a gesture Boatwright says he appreciates. But he says he’s neither trying to align himself with Nash nor distance himself from Nash.

Contact David Berman at 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com