CANDIDATES FOR MACON COUNTY SHERIFF VOW TO TACKLE DRUG ISSUE

MONTEZUMA - Three candidates, all with experience in law enforcement,
are vying for Macon County sheriff in the July 20 Democratic primary.

Because there are no Republicans running, the winner of the primary
will run unopposed in the November election. All three candidates -
incumbent Charles Cannon Sr., Warren Brown Jr. and Terry Kanazawa -
hope to improve Macon County's drug problem if elected, but said
they'd use different methods for dealing with the problem. Cannon, 57,
will have served 28 years as the sheriff of Macon County at the end of
this year. He said he didn't think there were any main campaign
issues. "In Macon County, we have the same kind of problem everyone's
got - a drug problem," he said. "When I first started, there were no
drugs, but over a period of years it's escalated." Cannon said he
would like to create a Macon County drug task force, "but with the
county being as financially strapped as it is, it's hard to get one."

He said he tried to create one three years ago, but the commissioners
said the county couldn't afford it. Cannon said he would like to
create a task force in the next three to four years. However, he is
hinging his campaign on one main factor: "I know all the people, and I
know how to relate to the vast majority of the people," he said.
"There's more to being a sheriff than just saying, 'I want to be the
sheriff.' " Cannon said it is important for a sheriff to have an open
door policy - which he has. "We're here to serve the best way we can,"
he said. He said voters should re-elect him "because they know me -
they know what I've done in the past," he said. "And I've always tried
to be here for the public."

Brown, 45, also has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years.He
started working at the Montezuma police station in 1983, and during his time
there has worked as a sergeant on patrol, an investigator and a field
training officer.

From 1989 to 2003, he worked for Weyerhaeuser as a technician while working
as a field training officer, a position he still holds. Brown said he thinks
educating young people about drugs is an important step
in solving the county's drug problem.

"Right now, we don't have a program in place in the county where a kid can
come to and have any type of information about drugs," he said. He said he
would like to start an education program and establish ties between the
church and private industry.

"I believe that if you can get a number of church ministers together, plus
private industry, to sit down and counsel this person and do some one-to-one
and do some Big Brother and Big Sister (program work) with them, I believe
it could change (people)," he said. A Big Brother and Big Sister program
would work on a volunteer basis, he said.

Brown said he also wants to bring D.A.R.E. - or Drug Abuse Resistance
Education - to Macon County. "You basically have to start at a young age and
explain the pros and cons of using drugs," he said.

Brown said Macon County is ready for new leadership. "I see the county
changing as a whole," he said. "We need new leadership, new ideas to come
in."

Kanazawa, 57, is president of Kanazawa Management, which owns various
companies, including Flint Motor Sales, K Protechtive and K Steel Building
Systems.

He said he is a former chief deputy sheriff and criminal investigator, but
he would not say during what years - except that it was "under a previous
administration."

Officials at the sheriff's office said there was no way of finding out since
he did not work under the current sheriff.

Kanazawa said he is running for sheriff because he can address problems he
doesn't think are already addressed in Macon County.

He said drugs are a problem in Macon County, but he didn't have any plans on
how to deal with it.

"I've got to be in office to know what's going on and to know what to do.
But I can assure you, I will do something about the drug problem," he said.
"I will make an attempt - right now I don't see that."

Kanazawa said in a telephone interview that he didn't have time to address
the other problems in the county.

He said people should vote for him "because I'm qualified, and I'm
dedicated, and I won't lie to them, and I won't disappoint them."