Schaaf wins big in Perry, Shell wins Bollinger sheriff race

Southeast Missouri voters in two sheriffs races overwhelmingly sent one longtime lawman back to office while those in another were more indecisive in their choice to take over for a controversial predecessor.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf, a Republican with 20 years on the job, again thumped Democratic challenger Ted Christisen by more than 5,000 votes -- about the same margin of victory he saw in 2008. In Bollinger County, however, Republican candidate Darin Shell barely bested independent Stash Petton in the race to see who would take over for Sheriff Leo McElrath.

The night barely offered a yawn for Schaaf in his race that was as quiet as his challenger, whose campaign featured a few yard signs and little else.

"He didn't really put up much effort," Schaaf said after the votes were tallied. "I'm not even really sure why he ran."

Schaaf, first elected in 1992, beat Christisen by big margins, with 6,457 voters choosing Schaaf compared to 1,362 for Christisen, a longtime truck driver who has never held office. Schaaf again ran a race on his record, pointing to strong drug crime enforcement, falling crime rates and improvements he's made to technology within the department.

Gary Schaaf

"I'm really happy," Schaaf said. "I'm glad that the voters in Perry County seem to be happy with the job I'm doing."

Bollinger County voters weren't happy with their sitting sheriff, Leo McElrath, who was beat by Shell in the August primary. Shell, a man who resigned his post as an investigator with the Missouri Humane Society, beat Petton 2,868 votes to Petton's 2,415.

But Shell said he didn't rest easy Tuesday night, as results continued to show him barely leading over Petton, a former deputy who worked in hospital security.

"I was nervous the whole time," Shell said. "But I knew Stash was going to do very well. Now I have to get to work building partnerships, getting the lines of communication open and I'm looking forward to the challenge."

Shell will take over for McElrath on Jan. 3, assuming an office that in the past four years has seen controversies such as a jail cell suicide and a deputy who shot and killed a Chihuahua.

Petton said he was satisfied with his showing, especially considering he was running as an independent in a strong Republican county. He also said that he respected McElrath, who had a career with the Missouri State Highway Patrol before getting elected.

"I think a lot of those things that happened were beyond his control," Petton said.