CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — Camden County elected a new sheriff Tuesday night.
Republican Kevin Chaney, who ran against his former boss, incumbent Sheriff Jim Proctor, took the seat.
By 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Camden County’s unofficial tallies on its election summary report showed Chaney beat Proctor by 6,655 votes.
Chaney thanked his supporters at a watch party in Kingsland. Chaney said he’s been in law enforcement for 28 years and told First Coast News he plans to beef up support for sheriff's office employees, check policies and procedures and increase peer support when he first gets into office in January.
"I’m excited to win,” he said minutes after getting a call from the supervisor of elections office. “It’s been a long year of running a campaign, long nights and early mornings. It's paid off and the citizens of Camden County have elected me to be their sheriff and I'm gonna do my best every day to be their sheriff."
First Coast News asked Chaney about the Camden County Jail as jails across the country face staffing shortages.
“As far as the jail, a peer support program is gonna be key,” he said. “Bring in that risk assessment team and tell me about the jail policies and procedures, make sure we are correct in how we do things and make sure we treat the people the same way they need to be treated. Be the sheriff of the citizens of Camden County. That’s what’s important, that’s who I work for.”
Chaney said it was “difficult” running against his former boss and that Proctor was "always good" to him. He said he and Proctor had different ideas about the direction the sheriff’s office needed to go. Proctor was running for his fourth term as sheriff.
First Coast News reached out for comment from comment Proctor. When he responds, that information will be updated in this article.