Brooks Taylor announced his candidacy for Greene County sheriff on Monday.
Taylor retired on March 25 from his post as a Virginia State Trooper, where he served for over 10 years, to prepare for his campaign. Taylor is a former Greene County deputy and Fluvanna County deputy, and prior to that he was a volunteer firefighter in Greene County.
His father, Leon Taylor, was a deputy sheriff as well. As a multigeneration Greene County native and star high school athlete, Taylor is well-known locally. He still holds the Virginia state high school record for the longest touchdown pass – a 99-yarder.
As a graduating high school student, he was awarded the Virginia Sheriff’s Association scholarship to pursue a career in law enforcement.
“The job of sheriff must be performed to the highest and best standards,” Taylor said. “Effective policing in a growing rural area like ours requires effective training of our deputies. It requires understanding how to allocate the resources when there’s never enough money in the budget.
“A modern sheriff’s office must keep its officers physically strong and healthy enough to provide the security that our citizens deserve. A modern sheriff’s office must keep up with vehicle maintenance, manage sophisticated computer systems and stay up to date with the best approaches for dealing with our citizens who suffer from mental illness. A modern sheriff’s office must manage a multimillion-dollar budget and know how to get a stray cow out of the road. We also need to understand that we have residents of our county who have not had the best experience with law enforcement in the past. I will work every day to build a modern sheriff’s office that can make things better for everyone.”
Employing a campaign theme of Making Things Better, Taylor intends to improve Greene County’s efforts in several areas: Leadership and Integrity, Proactive Policing, Fiscal Responsibility, Traffic Safety and Crime Reduction.
In particular, he is concerned with the county’s overall crime rate, which is as much as double that of its neighbors. He has identified assaults and drug-related crimes as needing special attention. Greene County is growing rapidly and he feels these types of activities must be brought under control with modern methods including coordination with local organizations to reduce crime-breeding situations.
“By looking ahead we can proactively avoid problems. We will develop strategic plans that address the long-term law enforcement needs to ensure the safety of our community as we grow,” Taylor said.
More information on the campaign is online at www.BrooksTaylor.org.
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