Candidates make final push in race for Charleston County Sheriff

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — As Election Day approaches, the race for Charleston County sheriff is intensifying, with incumbent Democrat Christine Graziano facing challenges from GOP challenger Carl Ritchie and independent candidate Alan Ali.

“I have been able to bring our communities together during very difficult times, including our pandemic and civil unrest,” Ritchie said. “Over the years, I’ve probably been involved in every natural disaster you could imagine. So, I was tried, I was tested, and I was able to protect communities, which is what I swore an oath to do.”

Ali, highlighting his extensive experience, said: “I mean patrol, special forces, 11 years. I was a Special Deputy United States Marshal all the way up to Internal Affairs and Patrol Lieutenant when I left the agency. community over the past 25 years.”

Graziano emphasized her proactive approach.

“We don’t run from difficulties,” she said. “We face this head on because we can’t make excuses.”

Staffing remains a critical issue, with 78 vacancies to be filled. Graziano noted that when she first took office, that number was double that.

“One of the greatest achievements in the first couple of years was delivering a pay equity study to our legislators to make sure we went from being one of the lowest paid states to one of the highest. This allowed us to really focus. our efforts to recruit quality candidates,” she said.

Her opponents say more needs to be done, especially at the Al Qanon Detention Center, where 14 inmates have died since 2021.

“You need someone who knows how to run a prison, who has experience running a prison, to identify problems, to deal with problems, to deal with the staff there. When you have so little staff, you can’t see everything that’s going on,” Ritchie said.

Ali added: “The detention center is not a repository for everyone who goes there. There are people there with mental disabilities. They don’t have to be there, depending on the facts and circumstances of each case.”

Graziano spoke about her educational programs in prison, especially for juveniles.

“It’s called Education 2.0.” This is a component of digital literacy in prison. Remember I told you earlier that we have the highest success rate: 0% relapse, 0% for those who complete our program. We have a waiting list of about 100, and there are about 180 people in the program right now,” she said.

Ritchie suggested bringing in private security to help with non-custodial tasks.

“Being able to bring in private security to help with some of the issues related to non-custodial and inmate control will free up some trained deputies who can really focus more on the inmates while we rebuild the internal staff,” Ritchie said.

Ali expressed his commitment to community involvement.

“I was social with them. And whether it’s in Awendaw or Edisto, wherever it is, wherever rural Charleston County is. And once the deputies see that, and once other law enforcement officials see that, they say, you know what, I want to be part of this movement right here,” he said. “This sheriff here, he sets the standard, he raises the standard and then he maintains it.”