Newly reopened race for York County sheriff heats up

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — The race to be the next sheriff in York County is heating up after the local Republican Party opted to reopen the filing period for candidates this week.

Channel 9′s Tina Terry has been covering the developments since Sheriff Kevin Tolson took his name off the ballot, allowing his wife to take his place on the ballot with no other competition.

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The York County Republican Party voted to reopen the filing starting Thursday, and one new candidate was ready to go, saying he’s the best candidate for sheriff.

“I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity and I think it does help clear everything up and make everything look like it’s on the up and up,” said Heath Clevenger.

Terry was there when Clevenger, a retired York County deputy, formally filed to run against Beth Tolson.

Last week, Clevenger was surprised when the current sheriff’s wife took his place on the ballot on the last day to file. Clevenger said he originally didn’t file to run because he wanted to support Kevin.

“I had planned to run when he wasn’t going to run,” Clevenger told Terry. “I worked for him, great man, ton of respect for him. Out of that, I wouldn’t run against him.”

But the Tolsons’ switch caused such a stir that the local party voted to reopen filing for one more week.

For voters like Amani Rodway, they’re happy to see some competition in the race.

“Let us have a voice, let us have a vote to really choose who we would like,” Rodway told Terry.

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Clevenger has more than 25 years of law enforcement experience, and he says one priority if elected would be improving the relationship between law enforcement and the community.

“You have to continually build your relationships with the community; it’s not a coffee with a cop one-and-done type of thing, that’s a constant thing that has to be done so the community has trust in law enforcement,” Clevenger said.

Newly reopened race for York County sheriff heats up

The contenders

Beth Tolson couldn’t speak on camera Thursday, but spoke with Terry on Friday. She said she decided to run for sheriff on the last day of filing.

“We were back and forth with it until I walked in those doors and filed,” Tolson told Terry.

But the decision was viewed by some as controversial. Tolson told Terry she didn’t think it was going to cause such an uproar, and she said she apologized for that.

Tolson says she has a passion for law enforcement and “blue blood” -- her father was a sheriff for 20 years before her husband took the job, and she’s spent more than two decades in law enforcement.

“I know the ins and outs, I know the daily routines, I know what I’ve seen him experience and what it takes, and I’ve lived it for the last seven and a half years,” Tolson said.

She says she wants to provide more mental health support for officers, and she also wants to improve the relationship with the community.

“We need to listen to them and they need to listen to us. We can make this place better by listening to each other,” Tolson said.

And now, Tolson is seeing more challengers as of Friday.

Chris Blevins, a retired York County deputy with more than two decades of law enforcement experience, filed to run. He says he wouldn’t have run against the current sheriff, but that an opportunity “presented itself.”

Blevins told Terry that he’s hoping to promote fairness and transparency through his leadership.

“I just want to make sure everything’s done right, everything’s on the up and up,” Blevins said. “Transparency is a big thing.”

On Monday, retired Rock Hill police officer Tony Breeden filed to run for the sheriff’s race.

Rodway said with fresh options, he’s now going to look into the differences between the candidates.

“I’m going to do my research, so if the wife is better, we’re going to go with the wife; however, you know, I ‘m happy to hear that someone did come and put their name on that ballot,” Rodway said.

The filing for the race will now close at noon on April 17.

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