Anderson County Citizens, I, Ginger Lively, am announcing my candidacy for Anderson County Sheriff in the upcoming 2024 Republican primary.
For those I have yet to meet, let me introduce myself. I am the former Chief Deputy of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, serving the citizens of Anderson County for nine years from 2011 to 2020 in the capacity of Reserve Deputy, Patrol Deputy, Investigator, Captain and Chief Deputy.
I have been an Anderson County resident for 34 years. I come from a law enforcement family and raised my two daughters in Anderson County, both graduated from Slocum Independent School District. I have 27 years of work experience, over 19 years in the Criminal Justice Field and over 13 years of leadership, supervisory and management experience.
I started my career in criminal justice in 2001 with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice where I worked my way up to Regional Supervisor of Offender Grievance for Region II. This position oversaw a 21 unit grievance program, including the five units in Anderson County.
I left TDCJ in 2011 to explore another side of the criminal justice field, starting my law enforcement career with Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Since leaving the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office I have retained my Peace Officer Commission through Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
During my time at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, I specialized in crimes against persons, working the majority of child sexual assaults, family violence assaults and murders within the county during my time as a criminal investigator. I developed relationships with local, state and federal agencies by working with them to alleviate our county of some of the most heinous criminals and provide rehabilitation and justice for our children and citizens that were victimized.
I am keenly aware of the challenges law enforcement faces in our county through my past experience as a law enforcement officer and administrator for the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Challenges such as, the drug crisis, sex crimes, human trafficking, burglaries and thefts, call response, case investigation, caseload management and case prosecution. Also, challenges the administration faces such as balancing a safe and proactive department while managing staff issues including staff recruitment, retention, pay, training and motivation. Maintaining an agency that demonstrates equal opportunity employment and abides by federal law governing discrimination and harassment within the workplace. I have first hand knowledge and experience managing all these challenges and creating and developing a workplace that abides and upholds the law for both staff employees and the citizens the agency serves.
Staff recruitment and retention is just one of the many challenges that law enforcement administration faces. Through my training and experience I have learned the quality of people who staff an agencies is the key to an agency’s success and the lack of staff can cause many issues within an agency. Staffing shortage can lead to low morale and officers working extreme overtime hours. Extreme overtime hours and low morale can be detrimental to many aspects of a law enforcement agency’s responsibilities such as call response, timely investigations and case prosecution. Shortage of staff causes less law enforcement presence in communities, longer response times and inadequate coverage. This is a danger to both the citizens and to the men and women serving in a law enforcement capacity. I am prepared for these challenges with experience and the drive to conquer the staffing issues and provide a work environment that encourages teamwork, develops team morale and focuses on staff retention.
I believe administration should work hand in hand with the men and women on the front lines of law enforcement to conquer the challenges and crime our county and communities face daily. Administration being active in the day-to-day law enforcement duties establishes consistency from top to bottom, promotes confidence throughout the agency, develops experienced and timely investigations and creates a thorough check and balance system for call response and cases.
In my years as an administrator, supervisor and manager, I established a “lead by example” work atmosphere which promotes and develops a positive teamwork environment. During my time as an administrator of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, as Captain and Chief Deputy, I maintained at least three deputies on the street per shift, even if it required me filling one of those spots myself.
Myself, and other administration under my leadership responded to calls, maintained an investigation case load and helped on patrol duties to ensure the county needs were met and the coverage of the county was adequate. This is the same leadership and work ethic I will have, bring, establish and promote as Sheriff.
I believe it is vital in the fight against drugs in our county to reinstate and establish community and proactive policing and programs. As Sheriff, I will work with the schools, after school programs and churches within our county to reinstate programs such as the New D.A.R.E. Program. A program to educate our children concerning the negative and deadly impact of drug use, the new drugs killing our youth disguised as candy and the dangerous distribution of these drugs. Additionally, I want to introduce and develop programs that educate our citizens and youth of the rising crisis in human trafficking, sex crimes, bulling, cyber bulling, teen suicide, internet predators, sexting and obscene photos distributed via electronic device. These programs create proactive policing by educating on safety, discouraging criminal behavior and drug use and providing knowledge on the ramifications of criminal behavior and the danger of drugs.
In my opinion, these programs are priceless when it comes to disrupting the “school to prison pipeline” that is seemingly becoming more prominent in our society and for keeping our children safe from predators. I believe that community and proactive policing is not an option, it is a must in today’s society. In my experience community-policing develops a relationship between law enforcement and the citizens that can affect everything from burglaries to family violence. It helps maintain a law enforcement presence in the communities that can deter crimes and promotes proactive community involvement.
To me the position of sheriff is not merely a title or career achievement; it is an honor, a privilege and a promise to prioritize, protect and serve the citizens of Anderson County. “Service before self” leadership that works with the community and for the community to provide a safe place to live, work and raise a family is a must. I will work tirelessly to leverage all my experience, knowledge and relationships to work to the benefit of the county, communities and citizens I serve. I hope to establish confidence in our local law enforcement by ensuring all crimes reported will be responded to and investigated in a timely manner; investigations will be presented to the District Attorney’s Office for prosecution without bias; and proactive community policing and programs be reinstated and established to have lasting positive effects on our county and youth.
I am a worker by nature and believe in leading by example in all aspects of my life. I believe in teamwork, and I strive tirelessly to achieve satisfaction for challenges that face me. I am committed to honesty, integrity and justice. I choose to focus and prioritize the demands of the day to day challenges in pursuit of justice for victims and safety for citizens over the political spotlight. My core foundation as a person is God, Family and Service. I am not a politician.
I look forward to speaking with the citizens of Anderson County and encourage the citizens to reach out to me with any questions or concerns they may have regarding my candidacy for Sheriff of Anderson County.
For information regarding my candidacy you can reach me through U.S. Mail at P.O. Box 164 Elkhart TX 75839, via email at [email protected] or via phone at 903-724-8493.
Ginger Lively
Republican Candidate
For Anderson County Sheriff
