Eric Balentine: If Someone Gains, Someone Else Loses

 

With ballot totals in, we're told Colbert County voters chose straight-ticket voting to the tune of 72%+. While not all were nods to Republicans, obviously most of them were. No need to select the best candidate, just place an X by what the voter considers the best party. This is why our area has at least one very amoral representative in the state legislature, and we would guess many more statewide.

Our Colbert bloggers were evenly divided in their choice of sheriff; therefore, our blog made no recommendations. Our congratulations to Eric Balentine. We do have a question for the Colbert sheriff-elect.

In a TimesDaily article, Mr. Balentine has promised more coverage in high crime areas and also more patrols in the western end of the county. If any are not aware, the eastern end of Colbert has a much higher crime rate than the western.

How will Colbert County achieve more patrols in both the eastern and western ends of the county? Does the central portion of Colbert lose all or most coverage? If not, where is the money coming from?

Words are cheap, and promises are plentiful. Colbert County deserves some real answers for its crime-prone areas. 

The Race for Colbert Sheriff - Part II

 

We live in a lawsuit happy time. Our part one on the sheriff's race was obviously proof of that. Now we look at an incident from 2012 that centers on Eric Balentine:

Balentine's detractors have also published lesser anecdotal incidents which they feel are problematic. We believe this is the most pertinent in their list of allegations against the candidate.

Of our current bloggers, we count three who are residents of Colbert County. One has endorsed Balentine, while the other two have not commented. We plan to make no endorsement in this particular election, but will be happy to publish any additional information or rebuttal between now and the election.

The Colbert County Race for Sheriff

 

We had originally planned to wait until closer to the general election to comment on the race for sheriff in Colbert County; however, we've been asked to comment on what is becoming a highly contested match. Both candidates, Frank Williamson and Eric Balentine, have avid supporters who have, in some cases, made accusations concerning character.

There is an anti-Balentine page now on Facebook: Eric Balentine.

Much on this page is undocumented. We do see where Balentine took credit for new uniforms which it would appear he had nothing to do with. 

Obviously, the civil-rights suit is also public record, but we have not as yet read all the documentation. The other accusations lack proof or at least such proof hasn't been posted on the FB page.

We invite readers to contact us with questions regarding either candidate. We will be following up on this, publishing our findings at a later date.