Sheriff George Wilhelm confirmed this morning that he had stickers proclaiming “I Support Rowan County Sheriff George A. Wilhelm” put on all county patrol vehicles.

“We had them to put on the vehicles to give out to anybody (in the public) to show support of the sheriff and the Sheriff’s Department,” Wilhelm said.

County Manager Tim Russell was astounded this morning when asked about the stickers.

“It’s not permissible. We didn’t know anything about it. It’s not appropriate,” said Russell. “It may well be illegal.”

Russell vowed an immediate investigation and a full report to the county commissioners, who will meet Monday.

“If we have some kind of county policy that says we can’t do that, I haven’t been made aware of it,” Wilhelm responded.

After consulting with County Attorney John Holshouser Jr., Russell said the law is clear.

“They should come off and it should not be done at county expense,” said Russell.

Sheriff Wilhelm said he had the stickers put on the vehicles but will take them off if it is a violation.

“Other counties have the sheriff’s names on the cars,” he said. Some patrol cars have had stickers on them for a few months and the rest of the fleet was just stickered a couple of weeks ago.

Wilhelm said he didn’t think any of the deputies had a problem with the bumper stickers, but “if they don’t support me or the Sheriff’s Department, they’re going to have a problem.”

He quickly added, “I don’t have a problem if they (deputies) don’t like them (stickers), I have a problem if I have employees who don’t support me and the Sheriff’s Department.”

Russell said he has never heard of such an incident, and nothing has ever occurred like this in the 15 years he has been in Rowan County.

The county manager made it clear that the sheriff’s cars are owned by the county, and the county commissioners can decide what color they are and what goes on them.

Wilhelm said he paid for the stickers himself, not with county money and not with campaign finance money.

“One of the main points of all this is so that the people of Rowan County know the sheriff’s name,” Wilhelm said.

“We will look at the legality and the ethical part,” Russell said. “Is this good common sense? Is this the image we want to show the rest of the state?”

He suggested that if the patrol cars are going to become political poster boards, other candidates may want to add their stickers.

“Would ‘Re-elect Newton Cohen’ and ‘Re-elect Dave Rowland’ be appropriate on all county vehicles?” asked Russell, referring to the two incumbent commissioners seeking re-election this year.