Cheshire: Rachals has forgotten foundation

LEESBURG — David Cheshire offers a simple enough response when asked why he decided to run against his former boss, Lee County Sheriff Reggie Rachals, in the July 31 Republican primary election.

“A lot of people I’ve talked with in the county feel the same way I do: that the change they voted for in the last sheriff’s election didn’t take place,” Cheshire said. “Several people have told me the deputy they voted for three years ago is not the sheriff that’s in office now.”

Cheshire, a 23-year law enforcement veteran who’s worked with the Calhoun, Early and Lee County Sheriff’s offices, resigned from his position with LSO in November and announced a week later he’d decided to make his first run at elected office.

“I feel the people of Lee County deserve a sheriff that will look out for their best interest,” Cheshire said. “I’ve been in (law enforcement) long enough and with the (Lee) sheriff’s department long enough to see things that I don’t think are right. And most of the concerns I have — and citizens in the county have — are about money.”

Cheshire has made fiscal responsibility the cornerstone of his campaign to oust Rachals, who is serving his fourth year in office after defeating longtime Sheriff Harold Breeden in 2008.

“What’s on everyone in the county’s mind right now in these tough economic times is the budget,” Cheshire said. “Sheriff Rachals ran (four years ago) on a promise that he would cut Sheriff Breeden’s budget, and the first budget he put together asked for $1.3 million in increases. Where every other department head in the county was making cuts, he was asking for more.

Office Sought: Lee County Sheriff

Age: 41

Party: Republican

Law Enforcement Experience: 23 years (Calhoun, Early, Lee Sheriff