Former sheriff candidate supports Brantley, Sheriff Roundtree comments on misinformation

RICHMOND COUNTY, GA (WFXG) –
Mail-in ballots are now available for Georgia's general primary election runoff. Two regional races will be contested.

Richmond County Sheriff Race and Superior Court Judge. The race for sheriff was a major issue on the ballot. On Wednesday morning, Richmond County Sheriff candidate Eugene Brantley was endorsed by former candidate Bo Johnson. Johnson says he believes Brantley is the best person for the job and he thinks he has a big vision for Augusta-Richmond County.

“We came together because we both have a shared vision for Richmond County. We want to see Richmond County move forward and we want Richmond County to be safe. It's an idea that he and I share and our team shares and we got together and we talked about the issues and we got together and I decided to support Gino.

Brantley says he's grateful for Johnson's support and is ready to take on the sheriff's challenge. Brantley says starting on his first day in office, he wants to improve officer safety and conditions at the jail.

He says the prison has gotten out of control and these problems need to be addressed now.

“If that means I wear the uniform to work in the jail alongside the deputies, if that’s what it takes to keep the people in the jail and the deputies there safe, then that’s what that we are prepared to do.”

The race for sheriff went to a runoff as no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.

Fox54 has reached out to current sheriff Richard Roundtree for comment.
Roundtree says there's a lot of misinformation about prison and when it comes to campaigning, people don't have all the facts.

“We went to the commission about 6 months ago to resolve some of the problems we had at the prison, and the commission expressed our needs, and they were able to provide us with funding. We have since resolved those problems “All our locks are working, our numbers have improved in the prison.”

Early voting for the runoff election begins Monday, June 10. The day of the second round of elections is June 18.