Steve Stevenson is announcing his candidacy for Sheriff of Carter County in the 2018 election.

Stevenson is running as an Independent candidate and will appear on the August 2 County General Election ballot.

A career law enforcement officer and military veteran, Stevenson lives with his wife, Katerina, their son Stevie and their daughter Hannah in Roan Mountain. The family attends Roan Mountain Free Holiness Church.

Stevenson served in both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard. He has 26 years of experience working as a certified deputy sheriff, including two years as a patrol deputy with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office. Stevenson also worked as the Acting Police Chief for the City of Minneola, Florida, for four years, and spent many years working for the Lake County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office in a variety of areas of law enforcement.

While at the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Stevenson served as the Special Operations Division Commander working with the K-9 Unit, Marine Patrol Unit, Underwater Search and Recovery Unit, Agricultural Unit,  Environmental Unit, Mounted Patrol Unit, and Civilian Mounted Posse. He also served as a Tactical Unit Under-Cover Deputy working with drug interdiction, robbery stakeouts, criminal surveillance, prostitution stings, and pattern crimes.

Stevenson hopes to bring his experience in a variety of law enforcement areas to the role of Carter County Sheriff if elected, particularly his experience with drug interdiction.

“Drugs and crime have taken away the quality of life we used to enjoy here in Carter County,” Stevenson said. “There is not one person reading this sentence, that does not know of a friend, a family member or someone who is addicted to drugs, dealing drugs or been a victim of a drug addict stealing to support their habit. This is the current environment in which we are raising our children and the world that we leave to them will be much worse if we don’t stand up and take our county back now.”

During his two-year tenure with the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Stevenson worked with the Power Shift, as a School Resource Officer, and as the patrol deputy assigned to Watauga. It was during this time that he said he witnessed things that inspired him to run for Sheriff.

“As I worked with the fine men and women at CCSO I could not help but notice many issues in need of correcting, but there were two big issues that created the motivation for me to run for Sheriff,” Stevenson said. “In my career in Law Enforcement, I was exposed to Deputies and Officers in numerous surrounding agencies.  I had never seen, nor heard of, so many employees leaving an agency at the rate in which they leave the Carter County Sheriff’s Office.”

“The other big issue that inspired me to run for Sheriff was manner or method in which the Sheriff handles the drug problem in the county,” he continued. “I know now why the drug dealers are so brazen and do not fear arrest.”

If elected, Stevenson said targeting drug traffickers will be his top priority.

“Folks, my main goal, my vision for Carter County is to improve our quality of life. We can’t just sit back and let the drug dealers and the criminals continue to cast a cloud of darkness over our lives and our children’s future,” Stevenson said. “As your Sheriff, as a highly trained and experienced leader, getting the drugs and the drug dealers out of Carter County is my number one priority and will stay my number one priority.”

“Currently, these folks operate fairly freely throughout our county.  If you have ever used a magnifying glass to burn an object, you are half way to understanding how I will fight for you against the drugs here in Carter County,” he continued. “When I become your Sheriff, these folks will not be able to operate or hide from the intense focus of light that is consuming their lives and their drug activity. This focus of resources and tactics will be relentless, it will be powerful, and it will be effective.”   

Stevenson said he encourages voters to check out all of the candidates running for Sheriff to compare their experience and see what they bring to the table.

“The first and the most critical step into getting the drugs out of Carter County is the elect a Sheriff who actually has the right Law Enforcement experience, education, and training to get the job done, Stevenson said. “That is what I have to offer to you.”