May 21, 2013 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Brian Tennant, a patrolman with the Waynesburg Borough Police Department, received the Democratic nomination Tuesday in a three-way race for Greene County sheriff.

Tennant defeated William Lewis Jr., a state constable, and Erik Ketchem, a foreman for the state Department of Corrections’ community works program and the son of current Sheriff Richard Ketchem, who announced in January that he would not seek another term in office.

According to unofficial election results for all 44 precincts, Tennant had 2,822 votes; Lewis, 631 votes; and Ketchem, 901 votes.

The turnout for the election was low, with only 6,061 voters, or 29.87 percent, of the county’s 20,293 registered voters going to the polls.

No Republican candidate appeared on Tuesday’s ballot, and write-in votes for that nomination had not been tallied Tuesday night. A cursory review of write-ins appeared to show Tennant would also receive that nomination.

“I’m very honored the voters of the county chose to put their confidence in me to be their next sheriff, and I just want to thank everyone for their support and for giving me that opportunity,” Tennant said.

“It was hard work, and there were a lot of good people behind me, whether it was getting signatures for my petitions or working a poll,” he continued. “Moving forward, I hope to lead the sheriff’s department in a new direction, one that will benefit all the people of the county.”

Lewis, though disappointed in the outcome of the race, said he congratulated Tennant on his victory.

“I just hope he doesn’t let the people of Greene County down,” he said.

Ketchem could not be reached Tuesday night for comment.

During his campaign, Tennant said he believed the sheriff’s department should be more involved in law enforcement, and his training as a police officer, and his trained police dog, would help the department move in that direction.

Tennant said he would like to see the department conduct patrols, increase warrant service and address one of the biggest problems the county faces, illegal drug use, by being more involved with the drug task force.

Lewis said he believed during his tenure as a constable and deputy coroner he had gained the “life experience” necessary to understand and work well with people.

Ketchem, during his campaign, spoke about his familiarity with the sheriff’s department, having spent time there since he was a teenager and his father was deputy sheriff. He also had worked as a full-time sheriff’s deputy for about two years in the 1990s and after that occasionally helped out in the office.