Two candidates for Richmond County Sheriff, two different visions for the City of Augusta.

On Monday, Incumbent Sheriff Richard Roundtree and Challenger Eugene Brantley laid out their initiatives one last time ahead of Tuesday's runoff election.

In a press conference, Brantley shared his top 10 priorities for the first 100 days, if he were elected as Richmond County Sheriff.

“I’ve been on the ground fighting, working in this community for going on 24 years," Brantley says. "When I tell people I will have an open door policy, the door will probably be open more times than not. But, I’ll probably be outside doing something or working somehow trying to build relationships, trying to get our community back to where we trust the sheriff’s office.”

Brantley's plan includes a comprehensive audit, immediate action on gun violence, answering alarm calls efficiently and strengthening community policing efforts.

Below you will find Brantley's top 10 initiatives he says he wants to implement if he becomes sheriff.

“Policing is about relationships," he says. "And now, we don’t see the officer’s engaged in the community, in these neighborhoods. Gangs start in neighborhoods, they're territorial and we want to get back to community oriented law enforcement.”

Also in the plans, a focus on enhancing overall safety in Augusta.

“I remember when first Friday, we used to have a deputy on every block and we used to park our cars and we used to walk the blocks to ensure that people were safe," he says. "And, we didn’t have the gun violence that we have now. So, that approach works and we’re going to get back to doing things that work here in Richmond County.”

Below is Eugene Brantley's downtown safety plan.

FOX54 also caught up with Incumbent Sheriff Richard Roundtree who says experience matters.

“We’re in the thousand days since I’ve been sheriff and that’s what we want people to look at, our body of work," Sheriff Roundtree says. "Look at what we’ve done, I think our track record speaks for itself. We’ve become a nationally accredited agency, state accredited agency.”

Sheriff Roundtree tells us he has top priorities too.

“We’re always looking to increase safety throughout Richmond County," he says. "Downtown is just one corridor of Richmond County. Now, it gets a lot of attention because it’s a downtown corridor. But, we emphasize safety throughout the communities in South Augusta, West Augusta as well as downtown. So, we feed everybody with the same spoon. So, we’re always trying to come up with safety measures to improve the quality of life of all Richmond County citizens.”

And plans to fulfill promises he made when he was first elected.

“One of the things I promised 12 years ago: a county wide camera system," he says. "We now have the funding to start in the downtown corridor. So, we’re excited about that...that project is up and running and hopefully, in the next four years we’ll get that part throughout the county.”

Both candidates want residents to take a good look at both of them and the experience they bring to the table, before making an informed decision about who leads the sheriff's office into the future.

Tuesday is election day. Polls open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Copyright 2024 WFXG. All rights reserved.