Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Jeffrey Don Bryson is a lifelong residence of Gastonia, North Carolina. He currently resides with his wife Tracy Bryson for (28 Years) and youngest daughter Kaylyn. His eldest daughter Cassie and son-in-law Justin Evans reside in Hawaii, where Justin is stationed with the U.S. Air Force. Bryson graduated from Hunter Huss High School in 1979 and Gaston College B.L.E.T. (Basic Law Enforcement Training) in 2004.

In 1984, Bryson joined the work force at Murata Machinery USA. He worked at Murata for 19 years where he consistently, through hard work and dedication, climbed the ranks to Safety and Facilities Manager. In this position he was responsible for planning, directing, and implementing programs required by OSHA, as well as maintaining and managing all properties owned by the company. During his career with Murata, Bryson traveled throughout world.

In 2004, Bryson joined the Gaston Police Department as a Patrol Officer, Bryson currently is the Policy Officer for the Department.

The Gaston County Sheriff's Office is spending too much time in politics and not enough time tackling the real issues facing our community such as the growing number of gangs, juvenile delinquency, and drugs.  Below are steps I will take to improve inter-law enforcement relations, lower crime, better protect our citizens, and cut out wasteful spending for the citizens of Gaston County.

Step One: 
The top priority of my tenure as Sheriff will be to invest in our youth. Right now, too many juveniles find their way into the jails, detention facilities and prisons.  When I am Sheriff, I will enact a Youth Education Program which will assist the youth in understanding jail is not the place to end up and show them different paths to embark on.  This is not an expense.  This is an investment in the future of our County and youth.

Step Two:  
Repeat offenders is a huge expense in Gaston County and it has not been given the proper attention it needs.  Tax dollars are poured into repeat offenders coming back to jail and it is time we got real leadership in the Sheriff's office to reduce these occurrences and start saving the Citizens of Gaston County money.

Step Three:
Establish a Restorative Justice Program for all offenders to repay their debt to society and garnish support from all sectors of the justice system. 

Step Four: 
Inmates in our jails are serving a debt to society for their actions -- on your dime!  Therefore, when I am Sheriff, an Inmate Workers' Program will be established for them to better serve the people of Gaston County and truly pay off their debt to society.