The Caldwell County Democratic Women’s Club hosted a Meet and Greet for the candidates running for county seats and the 8th District state representative seat in the November General Election.
The five Democratic candidates that spoke at the meet and greet were Jon Pettit for sheriff, Phillip Sisk for judge-executive, Austin Knight for District 1 magistrate, Cheryl Pettit for jailer, and Pam Dossett for 8th District state representative. The candidates introduced themselves, talked about their background and qualifications, and why they are running.
Current Jailer Jon Pettit spoke first and said he is in his third term as the county’s jailer, and he also has served 8 years as a deputy with the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. Pettit said there is a divide between the sheriff’s office and the community and that needs to stop. He also said law enforcement needs to get back to educating the public about what is going on in the community. He added the community can no longer sit back and expect law enforcement to do it all, it’s going to take everyone working together to address the problems in the county.
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Sisk said he’s owned a business for 25 years, was a certified EMT, served on the fire department and rescue squad, and he served 8 years on fiscal court. He said he has the state training and knows the job of the judge-executive. Sisk also noted that he already has relationships on the state level and he’s not afraid to ask for funding for the county, which is what it takes for legislators to know the county’s needs. He added they all need to work together.
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Knight said he decided to run for District 1 magistrate because he felt it was time to step up and give back to the community.
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Current Caldwell County jail administrator Cheryl Pettit said she has implemented several programs while working at the jail, including healthcare, in-house training, and other classes. Pettit pointed out she has the experience needed to be the next jailer.
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The last candidate to speak was Dossett for 8th District state representative who said she is a career educator that first decided to run for the seat in 2018 during the pension reform discussions among state legislators. She said the frame of her campaign as a local Democrat is she will listen to her constituents.
click to download audioThe Caldwell County Democratic Women’s Club Meet and Greet the Candidates was held during its regular meeting held the last Monday of each month at 5:15 p.m. at the courthouse in downtown Princeton.
