Edge, Norman in sheriff runoff

WAXAHACHIE — After the Mar. 3 Primary Elections last week, many candidates took home a win.

Those candidates in some cases will not have to face off in the November election against a Republican or Democratic challenger.

That was not the case for the Ellis County Sheriff election.

While whomever wins the runoff in on May 26 will officially win the seat, last Tuesday none of the three candidates took home the necessary 51% needed to announce a victory.

Challenger Brad Norman walked away with the highest percentage of votes in the sheriff’s election with 9,595 votes, a percentage of 44.19%.

Norman’s challenger and current Ellis County Sheriff Chuck Edge received 33.66% of the vote, or 7,308 votes.

Charlie Daniels, the third opponent who will not be in the runoff election, had 22.15%, or 4,809 votes when the polls closed last Tuesday.

Edge will vie for his seat in May against Norman to make the final determination as to who the next Ellis County Sheriff will be. While Edge did not respond to emails about the runoff election by press time, Norman said for his part he is, “honored and humbled” by the outpouring of support from everyone involved and surrounding his shared vision of the future for the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.

“Our supporters have been very passionate and very generous as we have spread our message throughout Ellis County,” Norman said. “We are not done yet either. We are in a runoff election for Sheriff on May 26, and I will be out and about in the community earning your support.”

Norman said one of the reasons he is excited about taking on the roll of sheriff in Ellis County if he obtains a win is because he is inspired by the “good folks we have met and spent time with while out in the communities.”

Grateful for the 9,595 people who voted for him in the Republican Primary he added, “I need y’all to come back out in May to vote again. I humbly ask for your continued support and your vote in the upcoming runoff election.”

Norman said he has a plan to implement several changes in the Sheriff Office in response to crime in Ellis County. His goals include creating an investigative unit to identify and target online predators who look to prey on and exploit children, being in the communities, being available and responsive to the issues in each community while also establishing Town Hall meetings throughout the county to hear those issues.

“We will do this together,” he said.

He also said he plans to explore the Federal 287(G) program to fully understand the effects and costs associated with its implementation.

Before the election, Edge said if he wins his seat, he plans to implement a new radio system for the county. He said there were many cases in the past in which officers from different cities and the county could not communicate with each other, which was “problematic.”

The runoff election for the Ellis County Sheriff will be on May 26, and early voting in Ellis County begins May 18 to 22.