Tony Thompson wants to be Black Hawk County's sheriff another four years. The two-term incumbent announced his re-election plans on Saturday (Feb. 6, 2016).

“It has been my sincere honor to represent the citizens of Black Hawk County in this significant role for 8 years now," Thompson said. "I promised everyone that I would be a long-term investment for the voters for years to come. I feel like I am just now coming into my prime and look forward to the challenges that lay ahead of me and the agency moving forward”.

In making his announcement, Thompson pointed out that index crime totals have dropped dramatically since he first took office in January of 2009, falling slowly and steadily from 315 to 161 this year.

"While I openly recognize the hard work of my entire staff to make such a dramatic drop in crime for our rural and unincorporated areas in Black Hawk County happen," Thompson said, "I also look proudly at that statistic as demonstrative to the vision, energy, drive, and determination that I promised and feel I have delivered as your elected sheriff. I look forward to four more years of having similar impact”.

Thompson said his main priorities are to continue to focus on what he called the core components that have caused a positive impact in the county for the coming years: drug crime, burglary prevention, and efficiences in the jail division.

"These are the staples that have created change," Thompson said. "When you pair those priorities with the enhanced working relationships and information sharing that we now enjoy between all law enforcement agencies in the county, we possess the right recipe for continued positive impact”.

Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from the University of Northern Iowa, and a master’s degree in public administration/criminal justice from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He and his wife, Janel, have been married for 22 years, and have two boys -- Brady (19) and Bryce (16).

The couple reside on a hobby farm in rural Black Hawk County, north of Cedar Falls.

“Evaluating where the sheriff’s office is, where it came from, and where we want it to be in the future," Thompson said, "is what motivates me to attempt another re-election campaign."

Voters go to the polls for the general election on Nov. 8.

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