05/26/2026
Sheriff Tanner, thank you. 28 years of service to Beaufort County deserves respect and you have mine.
But I have to be honest with this county. Because that is exactly what this race is about.
Sheriff Tanner is endorsing his chosen successor. A man he promoted. A man who held his first and only command rank — Lieutenant — for ten days before filing to run for Sheriff of a 300-person, $34 million department responsible for 923 square miles of land, water, and coastline.
Ten days.
I am not questioning Doug Seifert’s character. I am questioning whether ten days in a command role — after 20 years — prepares anyone to lead one of the most complex law enforcement agencies in South Carolina on Day One.
Now look at what Sheriff Tanner is asking Beaufort County to build upon.
30% of crimes cleared in 2024. Seven out of ten went unsolved.
14 murders in 2024 — a record high in this department’s history.
Drug clearance collapsed from 98% in 2018 to 74.8% in 2025. Seven straight years of decline.
45 homicides unsolved since 2012. 45 families without answers.
These are not my numbers. These are the department’s own numbers — submitted to the state and federal government.
I spent 35 years earning the experience to fix this. Road patrol. Narcotics. DEA Task Force. Multi-agency Drug Task Force Commander. Co-Chair of the Lowcountry Human Trafficking Task Force. Captain and Commander of the Southern Enforcement Branch — 60 personnel, $3.2 million budget, all of Hilton Head Island. Today at Jasper County, drug clearance went from 33.8% to 91.3% in two years under my command.
I did not get a promotion to earn those credentials. I earned them one rank at a time, in this community, over 35 years.
And I am not the only one who sees it.
Here is who is standing with this campaign:
★ Sheriff Chris Malphrus — Jasper County Sheriff, 2nd Term. My boss. He sees my work every single day.
★ Col. Bill Neill (Ret.) — Retired Colonel, BCSO • Former Director, SC Criminal Justice Academy
★ Randy Blackmon — Retired Sheriff of Jasper County
★ Kyle Blackmon — Retired Captain, BCSO
★ Capt. Ryan Neill (Ret.) — SLED Low Country Region Commander • 32 Years in Law Enforcement
★ Mayor Larry Toomer — Mayor, Town of Bluffton
★ Rep. Bill Herbkersman — SC House of Representatives, District 118
★ Lisa Sulka — Former Mayor, Town of Bluffton
★ Julian Walls — Retired Major, BCSO • 35 Years Alongside JoJo
★ Dan Mahoney — Senior Deputy U.S. Marshal (Ret.)
Plus 17 additional BCSO endorsements — every rank from Deputy to Colonel represented. Four elected and former public officials. More than 50 law enforcement professionals in total.
These are people who have worked alongside me, supervised me, and been supervised by me. They know what I am capable of. They know what this department needs. And they chose to put their names behind this campaign.
Sheriff Tanner built something. I will honor what works. But I will not pretend the numbers don’t say what they say. Beaufort County deserves a Sheriff who has been tested at every level of this job — not one who was handed a title ten days before asking for yours.
The time for change is now. June 9.
woodwardforsheriff.com
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Paid for by the Committee to Elect JoJo Woodward Sheriff
