Cape County sheriff candidates discuss careers, qualifications

At Thursday evening’s meeting of the SEMO Pachyderm Club presentations were given by Cape Girardeau County Sheriff Ruth Ann Dickerson and former Missouri Department of Public Safety director Charles A. “Drew” Juden III.

Dickerson is a lifelong resident of Cape Girardeau County and has served in the sheriff’s department for more than 34 years. She announced her intent to seek reelection earlier this month.

During her address at Thursday’s meeting, Dickerson detailed her involvement with multiple safety boards, including the Network Against Sexual Violence, the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County Major Case Squad and the SEMO Drug Task Force.

Dickerson said one of her strongest attributes was the mentorship she received from former sheriffs Norman Copeland and John Jordan.

She recounted her progression through the ranks of the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Department, beginning as a clerk and making her way through positions working with the jail and patrolling the county before becoming second-in-command behind former Sheriff Jordan.

Cape Girardeau County sheriff candidate Charles A. "Drew" Juden III speaks to attendees at a SEMO Pachyderm Club meeting Thursday at Delmonico's Steakhouse in Jackson.BEN MATTHEWS

Dickerson was named interim sheriff in August 2018 after Jordan’s resignation, and two months later she won a special election to serve out the remainder of his term.

Juden announced in December he would seek the sheriff position. He has 38 years of experience with the Sikeston (Missouri) Department of Public Safety, and was appointed to serve as the director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety by former Gov. Eric Greitens in 2017.

In his presentation to the club, Juden explained what happened to him in Jefferson City, Missouri.

“I had the opportunity to work for an outstanding and wonderful governor who basically got railroaded and run out of Jeff City, and when he left, I stayed,” Juden said. “I got a call from our current governor, Gov. (Michael) Parson, who said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a great cabinet. I think Eric Greitens put together a great cabinet, and we want you to stay on board.’”

Greitens resigned in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign violations as he battled mounting legal bills and the pressures of defending against possible impeachment and a criminal trial.

According to Juden, 90 days later, he entered the office of the governor’s chief of staff for a strategic public safety meeting, where he was asked to resign, and was fired upon declining the request.

Juden said he believes the largest challenge facing law enforcement in Cape Girardeau County is officer recruitment, and expressed his desire to provide increased pay in the hopes of retaining the staff it has already paid to train.

“We’ve got to get those salaries up,” Juden said. “It’s like running a professional baseball team or professional sports team of any type. If you want good players, you’ve got to be willing to pay for them.”

Juden pledged to improve communications between the various police and fire agencies in the county if elected, and promised to handle transportation of prisoners so officers can spend more time on patrol.

Juden emphasized the importance of improving the vehicle fleet at the sheriff’s department, and said he hoped to pursue securing $600,000 in state payments owed to Cape Girardeau County for inmate housing.

Dickerson and Juden have both expressed intent to run for sheriff on the Republican ballot in the Nov. 3 general election, guaranteeing an Aug. 4 primary election.