Ric Bradshaw wins fifth term as Palm Beach County sheriff
By Eileen Kelley
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw won a fifth term in office Tuesday, opening the door for him to become the longest-serving sheriff in Palm Beach County's history.
Through his campaign, Bradshaw touted his decades of law enforcement experience, 15 of those years as sheriff. The 72-year-old Democrat defeated Republican challenger Lauro Diaz.
Bradshaw will oversee 4,000 employees and 4,300 volunteers. The Sheriff's Office has an operating budget of $620 million and serves unincorporated Palm Beach County as well as seven cities and towns.
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Bradshaw said the win was really a win for the men and women who are served by the Sheriff's Office. He said he was happy that he will continue to be sheriff another four years and to surround himself with the men and women who put on the uniform each day.
"I cannot begin to tell you and stress how much it means to the men and women in this agency to have another four years of stability," he said.
One of the reasons Bradshaw said he wanted another term was to see initiatives through, such as beefing up the agency's mental health teams. Bradshaw said he has created seven teams that pair social workers with deputies. He'd like to double the teams' size to handle crisis situations and de-escalate them without force. He said the jail operates as the county's largest mental health provider and it shouldn't be that way.
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A renewed demand for body cameras also has resurfaced across the country after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis officers involved in his arrest. For years Bradshaw has been talking about body cameras even though they haven't materialized.
But earlier this year, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, one of the last holdouts against body-worn cameras in South Florida, said it was in talks with county leaders about freeing up the money to get them. Bradshaw also said while campaigning that he supported the use of body cameras.
Broward County workers count votes at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections - Branch Office, in Lauderhill, Tuesday, November 3, 2020, (Michael Laughlin/Sun Sentinel)
If Bradshaw remains for the full four-year-term, he will hold the title as longest-serving sheriff in the county. That title is currently held by Sheriff Richard Wille, who was first elected in 1976 and retired midway through his fifth term.
Eileen Kelley can be reached at 772-925-9193 or ekelley@sunsentinel.com. Follow on Twitter @reporterkell.