Paul Guy, wearing a cream-colored cowboy hat, looked the part of a lawman as he addressed a room of prospective voters at Hughes Main Library on Feb. 27.
Guy, the sole Democratic candidate, had showed up for a planned debate against his opponent, Republican Hobart Lewis. But the debate was canceled with little notice, after Lewis said he came down with an illness.
It’s the second time the debate was canceled.
This time, however, Guy addressed the audience anyway.
“I wish I had the other guy here, so I could talk about these issues,” he said.
Related: Hobart Lewis wins runoff for Greenville County Sheriff
Guy and Lewis will face off in the general special election on Tuesday, March 10, to replace former Sheriff Will Lewis, who was removed from office and later sentenced to one year in prison for charges of misconduct of a public officer.
Hobart Lewis (no relation to Will Lewis) won the Republican primary in January, beating out four other challengers.
“What we’re talking about is cultural change. We’re talking about changing a culture that is military-based to one that’s community-oriented.”- Paul Guy, candidate for Greenville County Sheriff
Guy, a former Greenville County Sheriff’s Office sergeant, worked as an undercover officer in narcotics from 1980 to 1999, when he was terminated by Sheriff Johnny Mack Brown due to what Guy had called “philosophical differences.”
Guy has been a frequent critic of the Sheriff’s Office and the alleged systemic racism he said black deputies experienced there.
“The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has 455 deputies,” Guy said. “We only have 17 African American deputies. Why is that?”
During his informal address to the room of potential voters, Guy focused on what he called the “military-minded culture” of the Sheriff’s Office.
“The Republican Party in their debate talked about structural change,” Guy said. “What we’re talking about is cultural change. We’re talking about changing a culture that is military-based to one that’s community-oriented.”
If elected, Guy said one of his main goals would be to allocate 80 percent of all seized assets from civil forfeiture to go toward prevention and intervention programs for area youth.
“We put kids in programs and not in jail,” he said.
He also said he plans to enlist nonprofits to train train officers in community outreach.
Lewis, Guy’s opponent, has also stressed the importance of community engagement, saying he aims to bring the community and law enforcement “back together.”
“Relationships and transparency are two things that will help bring our community and law enforcement back together,” Lewis said. “We need to engage this community in our daily work. We need to know what our community expects of its law enforcement professionals, and our law enforcement needs to know the level of personal service our community should receive.”
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