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This is the sixth in a series of stories previewing the June 10 political primaries.

Accustomed to opposition since he first won office eight years ago, Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams is facing two challenges from former deputies in the June 10 Democratic primary.

John Cokley, a private investigator and one of Williams’ former deputies, and Bowman Chief of Police Allen Kinsey, who also served as a deputy, are challenging the sheriff.

“I did research through the National Sheriffs’ Association and 75 percent of the people who oppose a sheriff are former employees,” said Williams, who was himself a former investigator when he won office in 2000.

Cokley, a former narcotics captain, made news when he filed as a candidate shortly after being acquitted on misdemeanor charges of criminal domestic violence.

“Thank God the truth came out, and the jury saw that” Cokley said after the trial. “The short time (10 minutes of deliberation) testified to that ... I’m leaving here right now to go pay my filing fees ... When I’m sheriff, the way CDV cases will be handled will be different,” he said.

Calling for change in office, both Cokley and Kinsey are making their first bids for public office.

If a runoff is necessary, it will be held two weeks later on June 24.

The winner of the primary does not have Republican opposition in the November general election.

Making his political debut in 2000, Williams was a former deputy who defeated then-Sheriff James “Poppa” Johnson by a vote of 11,590 to 9,381 in the primary runoff. Cecil Carson, a deputy fired and then rehired by Johnson, also ran.

Then, in 2004, Williams’ two primary opponents were Vance Boone, a former sheriff and retired SLED officer who actively supported Williams in 2000, and Leon Porter, a deputy who was fired by Williams when he took over the department. Williams easily won re-election to a four year term with 10,039 votes to 4,455 for Boone and 1,474 for Porter.

Orangeburg County has 52,043 registered voters. Of those, 32,392 are black; 19,153 are white and 498 are designated “other.”

n Larry Williams

Since he first won election eight years ago, Williams says his efforts as sheriff have been to “bring about the statistical reduction of crime in Orangeburg.” Toward that end, he says, the county has made a “remarkable” turnaround from number one in crime in 2000 to 38th out of 46 counties in the state.

“I made some bold steps when I was elected sheriff. Through hard work and great community support, I’ve been able to accomplish most of the things I set out to do,” he said. “I’ve brought about a change in the operation of the sheriff’s office. There’s a more professional approach in how we do our business and how we respond to citizens ... The regionalization process helped us tremendously in response time.”

According to Williams, it’s taken six or seven years to “unravel the high number of major crimes that went unsolved.” Right now, he says, the county has a 75 percent to 80 percent clearance rate for major crimes.

Proud of his work with schools and young people, Williams notes he initiated a gang task force “that’s been very resourceful for us” and that he, along with 16 other officers, were certified after completing a DARE program on gangs and drugs education.

According to Williams, it’s important to look at the sheriff’s office, not as a “standalone agency,” but as a part of a county government team.

Compared with when he took office, Williams says county law enforcement has shown improvement and the faith of the community has been restored. Despite the “tremendous strides” made, the sheriff stresses that there is still work he’d like to do, especially as relates to youth crime issues, while maintaining “our numbers in crime reduction.”

While fighting crime is his speciality, Williams says that the next stage is how to sustain what has been established.

“We have stability from my proven record. I’m proud to have a county reduced in crime,” he said. “The things I say I can prove. It’s written documentation. Real people and real voters want people who can get the jobs done.”

A native of Branchville, Williams has a bachelor’s degree in administration of criminal justice from Claflin University. He is certified and trained in numerous law enforcement areas. His law enforcement career includes service with the police departments of Orangeburg and Branchville.

Williams is a member of Canaan Baptist Church, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association and the National Sheriffs Officers Association.

n John Edward Cokley

A “difference in vision,” Cokley says, led him to resign from the sheriff’s office two years ago and to later announce his candidacy.

“I wasn’t in agreement with the way the department was being run and its directions,” he said. “I will have a proactive department rather than a reactive department. We will put measures to combat the criminal element rather than wait for something to happen and address it.”

Calling for a “positive difference,” Cokley says he’s concerned about “a lack of manpower, high response time to calls and a county this size needs to be broken down into regions and then into sections. There needs to be community awareness about law enforcement. I can’t recall any gang awareness for parents and children.”

If elected, Cokley says he’d also be more accessible to the public.

“Each Wednesday, I’d refer to as ‘Welcome Wednesday’ and see people as they come; no appointment necessary,” he said. “And several days out of the week, I’d go in neighborhoods and knock on doors and see if they have problems, see if they have deputies patrolling in the area. People are concerned about the issues -- high crime and slow response time, not seeing the deputies patrolling the area and not having deputies and administrators call back.”

In addition to the sheriff’s office, Cokley’s 18 years of law enforcement experience also includes work at the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Cokley is a native of Calhoun County and a resident of Orangeburg since 1990, when he got out of the military. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Benedict College and he’s pursuing a master of divinity degree at Payne Theological Seminary in Ohio. He is a private investigator with I.C. Merrill Co., for the Department of Social Services. Also, he serves as youth minister at Good Hope AME Church in Bowman.

n Allen Kinsey

“A parting of the ways” is how Kinsey described his resignation from the sheriff’s office in 2001. He was the new sheriff and “I was one of Poppa’s people.”

“It’s time for a change in Orangeburg County. I hear complaints every day. People come to my office and they suggested I run,” he said. “I’d try to get the morale back up in the department. Morale is really down in the department right now.”

If elected, Kinsey says he’d also work on improving response time and “the biggest thing I’d do is community policing. There’s a lack of that now.”

“When I came with the sheriff’s department under Vance Boone, he had a residential deputy program. Resident deputies could work then and resident deputies could work now,” he said. “Community policing is the big thing and response time for the deputies.”

Citing the drug problem, Kinsey says the community is “infested with drugs. It’s impossible to totally eliminate, but we can wage war against them by attacking the buyers. If we turn the heat up on the buyers, the sellers have no place to sell and they can’t stay in business.”

If elected, Kinsey says he’d provide a positive change.

“I’ll be a people’s sheriff and seen in the community,” he said. “When I say I’ll have an open door policy, I’ll have an open-door policy. If the people can’t talk, how will I know what their needs are.’

A native of Orangeburg, Kinsey has an associate’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Phoenix. He’s been Bowman’s chief of police since he returned from Saudi Arabia as a civilian policeman for a private contractor. His law enforcement career includes service as a deputy sheriff, as an officer with the Williston Police Department and as a member of the Fort Jackson security force. Also, he had a career in professional wrestling.

n T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by calling 803-533-5545.

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