RACE PITS REPUBLICAN AGAINST LIBERTARIAN

Temm against Fighting 'Minor' Drugs; Jones Focuses on Adjusting to Growth

Incumbent Sheriff Jay Jones had no Republican opposition in the primary and
currently has no Democrat opposition.

But Libertarian Charles Temm is running against him in the general election.

"I'm running to make a statement," Temm said.

Temm, 41, said he thinks the county's resources are wasted enforcing laws
against marijuana and other "minor" drugs.

He said one of his main goals, if he is elected, is to speed up response
time to the outlying parts of the county.

"The response time out here is 40 to 45 minutes. That's something I'd want
to look at, in terms of our resources," Temm said.

Temm is retired from the Army, and has lived in Lee County for five years.
He is originally from Maine.

He attended Southern Union for two years, studying forestry, agriculture
and fisheries. He now works at the Wal-Mart distribution center in Opelika.
His 18-year-old son attends Beauregard High School.

Temm said he thinks routine traffic stops and some drug laws should be
abandoned.

"Marijuana is no worse than tobacco and alcohol. I'm for the legalization
of marijuana and the decriminalization of other drugs," he said.

"There's a lot of government interference that you don't need."

Jones, who has been in office for four years, has worked for the Lee County
Sheriff's Department for 30 years.

He started there as an intern while he was getting his bachelor's degree in
criminal justice at Auburn University.

Jones, 48, has also worked in the patrol division as a road deputy, in the
investigations unit, has been chief investigator and was promoted to
captain before running for sheriff in 1998.

He said the top concerns of the department is the growth of the county,
ethics in law enforcement and training and education.

Lee County is the fourth fastest growing county in the state, Jones said.
"We have to adjust to that growth," he said.

And two of Jones' strongest beliefs are to make sure his public safety
personnel behave in a professional manner and are trained to do his job.

"What I intend to do is continue the efforts to increase our visibility in
the rural parts of the county, particularly concentrating on our areas of
rapid growth," he said.

He said the response time since he has been in office has decreased, and
the department has more deputies on the road "for preventive measures."

"We still need more deputies, but I feel like we've utilized what we have
to work with in an efficient manner," Jones said.

Beside his bachelor's degree, Jones has a master's degree in criminal
justice administration from Troy State University in Phenix City and
graduated from the FBI National Academy.

In addition, he graduated from the National Sheriff's Institute, the FBI's
Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar and from the Secret Service
Dignitary Protection Seminar in Washington, D.C.

Jones and his wife, Judy, have four children: a son, 28; and three
daughters, 24, 16 and 14.

Jones said his experience and knowledge set him apart from his competitor.
"Having served in just about every single division within the department on
the way to eventually being elected sheriff certainly provides a broad base
of understanding to what it takes to do the job."