Published: March 18, 2008 10:41 pm      

Claude Nix says he's running for sheriff

Politics is not something Claude Nix ever considered as a vocation, he said Tuesday.

“But in the recent past, I’ve been increasingly frustrated at many of our politicians,” Nix said. “I’m tired of hearing, ‘That’s not an issue,’ ‘That issue is very complex,’ or ‘That’s somebody else’s responsibility.’”

Late last year, Nix decided to run for Whitfield County sheriff as a Republican in the November 2008 election. The incumbent is Scott Chitwood, a Democrat, who has been sheriff since 1992.

“The law enforcement portion I feel very comfortable with,” Nix said. “The political end — obviously I am a novice.”

A graduate of Dalton High School, Nix said he has more than 22 years of law enforcement experience. He worked for the sheriff’s office as a detective lieutenant in the criminal investigation divisions, as an investigator with the district attorney’s office, worked homicide investigations and supervised undercover narcotics investigations for a 12-county area at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and served as the director of Hamilton Medical Center Public Safety. He currently owns Investigations and Security Solutions, a private investigation and security firm, and a rental property business.

Nix received an associate’s degree from Dalton State College in business and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He received a master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University.

He cited drugs, gangs and illegal immigration as three of his top concerns.

“It bothers me that the drugs we saw when I started this business are not the drugs we are seeing now,” Nix said. “I’d like to see more cooperation with the city, county, state, as well as federal, on all three of these issues, to tell you the truth. I don’t think we’ve had the cooperation and coordination at the department head level that I would like to see.”

Nix said the Conasauga Safe Streets Task Force appears to respond well when there is an incident involving gangs. The task force, which includes officers from the sheriff’s office and the Dalton Police Department, among others, investigates violent crimes and gang activity.

“They’ve probably put a good effort into identifying gang members,” he said. “Gangs are a community problem and we need to look at not just law enforcement solutions but community solutions.”

Nix said the federal government has failed miserably when it comes to illegal immigration. He said the 287(g) program that the sheriff’s office is using is an excellent step in addressing the problem. The federal program helps to identify illegal aliens by giving jailers access to an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement database.

“There should be room for expanding that for officers on the street and on the beat,” he said.

Nix said he will have more specifics as to how he will implement his ideas as his campaign progresses. He will hold a “Meet the Candidate” event on April 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Dalton Depot. Everyone is invited.