As many know, Sheriff Rick Staly is running for a third term as sheriff here for Flagler County. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Staly on why he is running for a third term and what he plans to accomplish should he win for the third time in a row.
We asked Staly why run for a third term. “We’ve accomplished a lot in the first two terms; the crime rate is down 54%, but we aren’t done yet. We’ve built a great team but there is still more to go,” Staly told us.
“We have to continue to prepare for the growth and development of the area. Flagler County is growing at a high rate with all of the new developments already approved and continuing to be approved and we as an agency need to be ready for that,” Staly continued when asked about what he hopes to accomplish should he be re-elected for a third term. He continued on telling us that they have laid the groundwork for the agencies growth but there is still a lot to do.
We wanted to know what plans Staly has yet to be able to implement in his last two terms that he hopes to accomplish should he be given a third term. “We need a dedicated training complex and I have been working with Renner on this for three years now. This would be beneficial as a regional training area that even the local fire departments could use,” Staly replied. This complex would include a tactical training area, range and more.
We wanted to know his future plans on the Opioid problem in Flagler County. “That is an issue with multiple facets. Closing the border is one of the big components but I can’t control that, I have to deal with the repercussions of it. We did take out a large drug operation that was based in Flagler County. That case took us to Phoenix AZ, to LA, and then to Mexico with one of the cartels. I can’t say which cartel because the FBI and other federal agencies are still investigating, but we did take out the Kingpins of that organization,” Staly said. He went on to say that he is only able to really handle the enforcement aspect of the fight against drugs in our county, but they do work with partners in other areas to help overcome this problem in the county.
This last July, Governor DeSantis passed the Constitutional Carry law, allowing citizens to carry weapons concealed without a permit in the state of Florida. We asked Staly if this was going to have an impact on the FCSO now and moving forward. “I see no impact on the FCSO. The bad guys still have guns, and now the good guys can have guns without having to get a permit. My deputies have done training on this earlier this year when it was passed,” Rick Staly said.
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When asked about what qualifies him over those who may run against him, “I think my proven track record speaks for itself. I have built a team and trained them well. I am highly educated with a Master’s degree and a law enforcement background. I still go out and patrol, I lead by example. I have been shot in the line of duty before, and I am not afraid to get my hands dirty. In fact just the other day, I wrote a ticket for a motorcycle who flew past me at over 100mph.”
We really wanted to know more about how Rick Staly planned on handling the development and growth of the county. “We have a man power study that was done in 2018 by the University of North Florida and it was updated in 2021, I believe. I am working with the City of Palm Coast and the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners on how to continue to handle the growth. This isn’t an overnight process, but we don’t want to lose the crime reduction numbers either. With more people come more calls for service, more traffic means more crashes. It’s a process,” Staly told us.
Recently there was the story about the deer that attacked an elderly man in the C-Section due to an individual attempting to make it a pet. We asked Staly about this incident directly, as well as what needs to happen now that the development of the area means less space for wildlife. “That is an issue with the FWC, and on how they chose to euthanize the animal. Someone attempted to make a wild animal their pet. This individual was letting this deer sleep next to him in his home, on his couch, in his bed, and this was a bad choice. The individual also broke many laws by doing this. our deputies detained the animal, and the FWC are the ones who chose how to euthanize the animal. My deputies are trained on how to handle situations like these,” Rick Staly continued. “The community needs to understand that wild animals are not pets, and we cannot treat them as such. When you do what this individual did you are sentencing that animal to death.”
Lastly we wanted to know what community projects Staly planned to continue growing should he win for the third election cycle in a row. “I want to continue growing the youth programs. The Cyber Crimes, Digital Forensics and Crimes Against Children are all areas that are still in infancy stage and need to be expanded further.
To find out more about Rick Staly and his platform you can visit his website here.
