Four Republicans candidates for Guilford County sheriff spoke at the monthly meeting of the Guilford County Republican Party on Monday, Nov. 8 at The Worship Place at 1807 Merritt Dr.

The GOP monthly meeting outgrew Guilford County Republican Party Headquarters on Friendly Avenue and had to find a larger venue.  Over 100 Republicans gathered for the meeting Monday night which, according to David Gleeson, chair of the Guilford County Republican Party, is about average since they moved to a larger facility.

Since filing for the November 2022 election doesn’t open until noon on Friday, Dec. 6, there are no official Democrat or Republican candidates for office, but Republicans Billy Queen, Adam Moore, Phil Byrd and Randy Powers have announced their running to become the chief law enforcement officer of Guilford County and participated in a candidates forum at the Guilford County GOP meeting.

Each candidate was given five minutes for an opening statement and then they each answered the same five questions with a time limit of one minute each.

There was a bit of a snafu in the beginning when Powers was called first to give his opening statement and thought he had only one minute.  However, after everyone else had spoken Powers was given an additional four minutes to finish his opening remarks.

Powers talked about his 50 years of  experience in law enforcement including being the chief deputy for Sheriff BJ Barnes.

Moore said that his experience working for small town police departments and being involved in community policing set him apart from the other candidates.

Queen said his experience as a Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) special agent had allowed him to work with law enforcement agencies all across the US and given him the opportunity to see what worked and what didn’t work.

Byrd said that his 30 years working at the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department with 10 years as a commander had given him experience in all aspects of the department.

All four candidates agreed that one of the biggest problems with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department, was Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers and that he needed to be replaced.