Alachua County is in the throes of a three-way race for sheriff in the upcoming Nov. 5 general election.
Republican Emery Gainey is the incumbent in the Alachua County Sheriff Office. He has served as sheriff for a little over a year, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed him to fill the spot vacated by former Alachua County Sheriff Clovis Watson Jr., who stepped down for medical reasons.
Challenging Gainey are Democrat Chad Scott, whose law enforcement career began in 1990, and No Party Affiliation candidate Pamela Marshall-Koons, who has previous experience in government and policy.
Here is information about each candidate.
Emery Gainey
Gainey, 65, is the first Republican to serve as Alachua County sheriff since 2006. He has worked at the office several times during his career, according to his website. He started as a uniformed patrol officer in 1982 and was a chief deputy in 2007 when he retired the first time. Gainey was appointed in 2016 by then-Gov. Rick Scott to serve as sheriff in Marion County, a position he held for about nine months.
Gainey said staff growth and retention has been one of his main priorities since returning to the office a year ago.
“We have hired … a little over 190 people,” said Gainey, who estimated that the sheriff’s office has retained about 110 of those hires. He said the others left for reasons that include retirement, position changes and failures to meet expected standards.
Gainey said another focus was on changing the workplace culture environment during his tenure to make it a place where people enjoy coming to work and working hard.
He said he also considers the creation of a gun violence task force to be one of his biggest accomplishments during his time as sheriff.
It “has resulted in an overall reduction of gun violence,” Gainey said.
Gainey said law enforcement has made 55 gun-related arrests since March.
If he wins the election, Gainey said he would continue to focus on recruiting and hiring measures, reducing gun violence and engaging with the Alachua County community.
Gainey responded to a question about what differentiated him from the other two competitors by pointing to his decades in law enforcement.
“I think the obvious thing is experience,” Gainey said.
Pamela Marshall-Koons
Pamela Marshall-Koons, 63, is the executive director of the WELLness Network, a holistic health non-profit organization. This year’s voter registration records indicate that she has no party affiliation, although she was a registered Democrat from 2015 until last year. Her website provides information about an invitation to apply for Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development in the Obama Administration as proof that she knows how government works.
Though she has no experience in law enforcement, Marshall-Koons touts transferable skills in her ability to do the job. She has spent over 30 years in administrative positions.
For example, her campaign website says, Marshall-Koons was “the first woman and first African American Vice-President of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce.” She was also the first woman and first African American for both executive director of the Memphis Area Association of Governments and chief of staff for Shelby County Mayor.
As sheriff, Marshall-Koons said she would focus on balancing protection and crime prevention. She also said she would focus on gun violence, with a special significance on gun-related suicide, which she says is not currently given enough attention.
Asked what makes her different from her competitors, Marshall-Koons referenced her experience in public policy as opposed to law enforcement itself.
The position of sheriff is more administrative than it is related to enforcing the law, she said. As such, she believes her experience in government management makes her a suitable candidate for the position.
As sheriff, Marshall-Koons said she would focus her attention on gun-related violence, domestic violence, crime prevention and public involvement.
“There’s no cowboy movie that says there’s a new mayor in town,” Marshall-Koons said. “It’s a new sheriff in town.”
Chad Scott
Chad Scott, 58, is currently a captain at the Alachua Police Department , which he rejoined in June.
A registered Democrat, Scott has been in law enforcement since 1990, working with the sheriff’s office until 2007 when he was fired by former Sheriff Sadie Darnell over allegations of dishonesty.
“I was wrongfully terminated,” Scott told WUFT in August about the termination. He unsuccessfully sued to get his job back.
Then in 2008, Scott joined the Alachua police and worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming chief of police. He left the police department in 2022 and was rehired at the sheriff’s office as a major. Scott quit the office in June 2023 to run for sheriff as mandated by the Resign-to-Run Law. In the meantime, Scott also rejoined APD as a captain.
As for what differentiates him, Scott turned to his rise through the ranks during his career in law enforcement. He also mentioned his leadership style, his confidence and his “empathy and love for all people.”
“I thrive on people who have the same passion as I do,” Scott said.
Scott’s website touts his platform as being built upon the tenets of crime prevention, community engagement and drug enforcement.
Scott said his campaign is a “grassroots” effort, with Scott knocking on doors and meeting with the voters.
“This is not just a job for me,” Scott said. “This is a calling. I love working and serving my community.”