The campaign for the Republican nomination for Jackson County sheriff is in its final weeks.
Jackson County Republican voters will select their choice during the May 8 primary election from a field of four candidates: Bill Abbott of Seymour, Rick Meyer of Seymour, Charlie Murphy of Dudleytown and Phil Nale of Brownstown.
The winner of that contest will face Democrat Jeff Walters of Seymour in the Nov. 6 general election.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryAll of the candidates either have worked in or currently work various law enforcement roles.
The winner of the general election will succeed Sheriff Mike Carothers, who is barred by term limits and was elected in November 2010.
This is the first of two stories featuring the Republican primary. This focuses on introductions of each candidate, and Thursday’s story will focus on issues.
Tell us about yourself.
Abbott: I’m Bill Abbott, I’m 53 and from Seymour. I’m married to Diane and have two daughters, Brittney and Heather. Blayke and Madison are my grandchildren. This is my 29th year as a police officer and 11th year as Seymour police chief.
Meyer: I’m married to my wife, Jennifer, who I met in high school, and we have three kids, Grace, Eli and Jordan. I was born and raised in Seymour and went to Seymour High School, where I was part of the 1988 state champion baseball team. I went on to play professional baseball and came back and played a year of college basketball at IU Southeast and began getting interested in law enforcement.
Meyer is 48 years old and started as a reserve officer with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department in 2000 and became a full-time officer in 2007.
Murphy: I’m Charlie Murphy, and I live in Dudleytown. I’ve been at the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years overall. My family is Danielle Murphy, formerly Wischmeier, and three kids. I am a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church Sauers, and I am 57 years old. I’ve been the jail commander at the department the last seven and a half years.
Nale: My wife, Sonia, and I, along with two of our daughters, live in Brownstown. I have been in the community for 18 and a half years. I’ve been a merited police officer for 31 years and served as a conservation officer — the last 18 were in Jackson County. I retired in September 2016. We’re also deputized as federal fish and wildlife officers, and I am a 1985 law enforcement academy graduate. I’ve also graduated from the Indiana Conservation Officer Recruit School. We’re members of Brownstown Christian Church. I’m a member of the Jackson County Fair board and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. I’m a Jackson County 4-H instructor and judge. Sonia and I enjoy going to as many sporting events that we can get to.
What made you want to get into law enforcement?
Abbott: (He worked in manufacturing at two local plants before deciding he wanted to get into law enforcement). I was a late bloomer to the force at the time. I grew up here, and I’ve been here my whole life. I only applied to the Seymour Police Department and the sheriff’s department. The Seymour Police Department opportunity came up first. Now 29 years later, I’m applying for the sheriff’s department again.
Meyer: I have a thing where I like to help people, and my previous job, I didn’t feel like I was fulfilling my dreams, and I wanted a career helping people. I always knew I wanted to be a police officer. I just took a different path.
Murphy: I was a volunteer fireman at a young age, and my brother, Steve, was a reserve deputy. Through him, it sparked my interest in it, and I’ve always had a strong desire to help my neighbors and help my community. The reserve deputy program was a way for me to do that back in 1998 under Sheriff Herschel Bowman, and I fell in love with it and why I’ve volunteered for 19 years.
Nale: The biggest push for me was service to people. I’ve always had that in my blood, and it’s something my mom instilled in me. She always told me to help others and think of others before you think of yourself. I want to continue that as sheriff.
What would make you a good sheriff?
Abbott: All the experience I’ve had. I’ve been chief for 11 years, and I’ve dealt with major crime scenes as chief and as a detective, helped with meth lab busts, assisted with the Katie Collman murder, several other homicides and the shooting at Cummins in Seymour. That’s just major crime experience, and if you can do that well, you can do anything well. I want to use resource leadership between all law enforcement agencies and throughout the community. The sheriff’s department should be the No. 1 law enforcement agency in the county, not just the position, but the entire department. If I get there, I think it will be a good working relationship with agencies in the community.
Meyer: I think I’m a firm but fair person. I listen to other ideas people have because it’s not all about me. I want to make an impact, not for the power. It’s all about making an impact in this community. I have the experience of working at the sheriff’s department, where I’ve worked nights, weekends and holidays for 12 years now. I’ve been to Sparksville, I’ve been to Crothersville, Reddington, Seymour, Tampico, and I know the community and the people in the community, and I think that’s a huge benefit.
Murphy: I know how to manage people. I’m efficient. I’m good with budgets. I know how to improve technology, which I have done at the jail. We’ve implemented video court system, which eliminates the transporting of inmates to court in most cases, which is a huge security and safety improvement. I’ve helped with the website, which has eliminated a lot of time with the media and attorneys needing information. I converted a manual inmate classification system into an electronic version at no cost to the county. I replaced an antique phone system at the jail at no cost to the county. It actually generates $5,000 a month into the commissary system that we can use for training and supplies and doesn’t come out of the general fund. I have a lot of ideas like that to make improvements, and I plan on focusing on drug enforcement and having more visibility in grade schools to talk to kids.
Nale: First and foremost, my attitude toward leadership and my attitude toward servitude. I believe in having good people around you, but I also believe in making those people around you better by serving them. I believe in helping people by leading people through servitude. I had good bosses that were good at this, and I can pass it along. One I had believed in an inverted pyramid and put himself at the bottom. He knew how we did our jobs came back to him, and he did everything in the world for us. You can’t expect your people to lead without doing it first.
Why are you running for sheriff?
Abbott: I’ve had my whole police career here and I’ve seen things, done things and been a part of things here. I think there is room for improvement. I want to bring in education and job skills for inmates. I’m already meeting with community partners and getting ideas, and people are buying into it. You see a little bit of that change with the new re-entry program they’re offering now at the jail. While they’re incarcerated, you see them at the most sober part of their lives, and if you have a chance to at least make a connection with them and provide them an opportunity to make a living without doing illegal stuff, that helps.
Meyer: I’m born here, raised here and I love this community. This community has a lot to offer, and I’ve been involved in several nonprofits like Jackson County United Way, Anchor House and my own Battle of the Badges, and I think if we all work together, we can make this community like it was 30 or 40 years ago. I still think it’s a good community. I just think leadership and getting everybody involved, working together can make this a better place.
Murphy: That’s something I’ve had my eye on for a number of years. Shortly after I became a reserve deputy, I started looking at the possibility of becoming sheriff someday. I think I can offer a lot to the county with my experience with my past employer (Home Products International) with logistics training, scheduling and budgeting. I can make a difference in the county.
Nale: I’ve spent so much time on specialties that I want to bring my focus to the county. I want to start doing programs in the schools. I want to take my skills and knowledge over the years and bring it into the community level and share it with the officers here and work with them in our community.
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Look for the next segment of the Republican race for the Jackson County sheriff nomination in Thursday’s edition of The Tribune.
The next segment will focus more on issues.
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