By Lee Barnes
lbarnes@salisburypost.com
Rowan County’s chief deputy will become the acting sheriff on Dec. 1, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be the interim sheriff next year.
Rowan County Sheriff George Wilhelm, 52, announced his early retirement Monday. He had a year to go in office and has recommended that Chief Deputy Kevin Auten replace him.
Under state statute, the sheriff’s chief deputy automatically becomes acting sheriff when the sheriff officially leaves office ó in this case, midnight on Nov. 30. But the Rowan County commissioners are not bound to keep Auten as acting sheriff.
The local Republican Party is likely to weigh in with its recommendation for acting sheriff, whether it’s Auten or someone else.
Although the commissioners aren’t tied to appointing a Republican, Chairman Carl Ford said it’s “not a reality” that the board would consider a Democrat.
“Protocol says you stay with the party,” Ford said.
All but one of the five commissioners are Republican.
Ford said he’d been hearing rumors for more than a year that the sheriff was thinking of stepping down. He said Monday’s announcement was “shocking, but not totally shocking.”
There are still some loose ends to tie up in Wilhelm’s administration:
– Earlier this year, Wilhelm’s secretary was placed on leave while the State Bureau of Investigation looked into the possibility of misappropriation of cash in the office. The secretary later resigned.
The SBI has completed its investigation, but has disclosed no timetable for what action, if any, will be taken.
– Wilhelm is asking the county to continue to provide him with group health insurance after he retires. A county personnel committee will look into the request.
Earlier this year, Wilhelm asked the county to give him credit for unused sick days and vacation days going back 11 years, a move that would have added more than a year to his retirement benefits. But since Wilhelm is an elected official, he’s not required to fill out a time card. Without time cards, there was no proof either way that Wilhelm was eligible for the benefits. The county rejected his request.
Chief Deputy Auten couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday on whether he wants to named the interim sheriff through the election, or if he’ll run for office. Wilhelm’s friend and longtime colleague has worked in every department in the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Other names mentioned as possible candidates for sheriff next year:
– Johnny Love, 41, is a maintenance technician for Rowan County and the manager of the Rowan County Fair. He confirmed Tuesday that he’ll be running for sheriff but isn’t asking to be considered for the interim job. He’s a special deputy with the Sheriff’s Office and was a full-time Rowan deputy from 1991 until 1994. He’s also been a Spencer police officer.
– Randall Correll ran for sheriff in the 2006 Republican primary. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He began his law enforcement career with the Rowan Sheriff’s Office before going to work with the Mooresville Police Department. He’s been with the Salisbury Police Department since 2003. He couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
– Tony Yon is currently the chairman of the Rowan County Republican Party. Yon ran for Rowan sheriff in the 2006 primary. He’s currently with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office. He couldn’t be reached on Tuesday.
– Todd Sides, a Democrat, has made it clear he plans to run for sheriff. He’s with the Gangs Investigation Unit of the Salisbury Police Department and was unavailable for comment Tuesday.