Cecil County Sheriff: Scott Adams Overpowers Blackburn in Election
Scott Adams, the Republican candidate for Cecil County Sheriff, coasted to an overwhelming victory over William (Danny) Blackburn, a Democrat, in Tuesday’s general election. Adams also won a solid majority in the June Republican primary, despite a crowded field of candidates, with his “team” approach that focused on putting experienced law enforcement experts into senior positions in the agency.
Adams, a 22-year veteran of the county Sheriff’s Department and a sergeant in charge of the deputies’ program in the local public schools, will succeed retiring Sheriff Barry Janney, who had endorsed Adams as his replacement.
And Adams will break a long tradition of Sheriffs coming from outside the local law enforcement agency, to become a veteran deputy promoted by the voters from within the local Sheriff’s office.
With all precincts and early vote counts reporting, Adams garnered 74 percent of the vote, to Blackburn’s 25.7 percent. Adams held a commanding lead throughout the evening as the votes were tallied. Subsequent counts of absentee, provisional and overseas ballots will not alter Adams’ big win in the race.
Blackburn had a 25-year career with the agency before retiring with the title of Chief Deputy in the late 1990’s. He defeated a crowded field of other candidates in the Democratic primary.
Adams’s general election win follows by a few days the retirement of his past election rival, Chris Sutton. Sutton announced his departure from the Sheriff’s Department after three unsuccessful election bids for the top post. Adams, in his first run for county elected office, carried the June GOP primary with 54.9 percent of the total vote to Sutton’s 27.4 percent. There were also three other candidates on the primary ballot.
With Sutton’s departure from the Sheriff’s agency to pursue a new career in the private sector, one of the problems that often follows an election—mending fences among backers of rival candidates within the Sheriff’s department— should be diminished.
Adams has identified drug abuse and drug-related crime as his top law enforcement priority and has pledged to take a multi-faceted approach—including cutting off the supply of illegal drugs on the streets and partnering with schools, parents and health agencies to promote drug prevention efforts to end the “demand” for drugs, especially among youths.
[SEE previous Cecil Times Special Report on Adams and his leadership “team” here:
“http://ceciltimes.com/2014/04/cecil-county-sheriff-election-team-focus-in-gop-primary-scott-adams-promotes-partnerships-to-solve-drug-crisis/”
