Incumbent Jim Arnott has won the Republican Primary Election for Greene County Sheriff, defeating his opponent, Ben McMains. No Democrat ran for the position, meaning Arnott will be the only candidate on the ballot in November.
In a pre-election interview with the Informed Voter Coalition, which KSMU is part of, Arnott was asked what the sheriff’s role is regarding gun safety and gun violence prevention.
"Gun safety is a huge thing," he said, "and we've talked about gun safety for years. We provide free gun locks, we've gone and talked to community groups about gun violence and safety, so we'll continue to do that."
Arnott said they not only educate, they work to enforce the law and put people who commit crimes with guns behind bars.
Arnott has ordered the removal of homeless camps in the county in the last several months. In the interview he said, "the bottom line is, if somebody is trespassing on your private property, you have every right not to have someone there. It doesn't matter if you own a 100-acre farm or if you're on a small lot in the city of Springfield and there's somebody trespassing on your property, that needs to be dealt with, and that's a law violation, and that's what we do."
Arnott has been with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office since 1988 and has served as sheriff for 16 years.
