Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

Bill Stamey began his career in law enforcement in 1971 at the Iredell County Sheriff's Department. He started as a jailer and worked his way up to Chief Deputy in 1978 under the late Tom Thompson. Bill left the Sheriff's Department in December 1978 and was hired as Chief ABC officer in 1988 as a Detective Supervisor and left in September 1997. He then returned to the Statesville ABC Board as General Manager and ABC Officer. Bill retired in December, 2008 with over 30 years experience in law enforcement.

With more than three decades of service in law enforcement capacities, I am amply qualified to be the next sheriff of Iredell County. My experience as a law enforcement officer within the sheriff's office gives me perspective to see what works and what doesn't. My top priority will be to have as many uniformed deputies on the street as possible. Visibility is the best crime deterrent there is. I believe deputies need to build relationships with the people in the communities. If you've got those relationships, people will pick up the phone and call you with information. To build those relationships, you've got to get out of the car and talk to people. If they see somebody to talk to, they should do it.

I want to improve the relationship between the sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies in the county. Working together is a priority. It takes all the agencies working together to fight crime in Iredell County. I have the desire, the capability and they experience to be the Sheriff of Iredell County.