Rules, Details Released for June 30 Sheriff Town Hall, Community Forum Event

CARROLL COUNTY (June 15) — The Carroll County Sheriff’s Town Hall and Community Forum is Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at 6 p.m. at the Carroll County Civic Center in Huntingdon, Tenn. (located at 201 Mustang Drive). The three Carroll County Sheriff candidates — Eric Sawyers, Michael A. Smith and Ryan White — will attend, with retired Circuit Court Judge Donald Parish serving as the moderator.

The McKenzie Banner and The Carroll County Observer are organizing this event as an opportunity for voters to meet the candidates and hear their ideas for the position.

Each sheriff candidate will be given 3 minutes for an opening statement and 3 minutes for a closing statement and will be asked a series of questions submitted by Carroll County residents. Questions must be related to the position or their experience. No irrelevant questions or attacks are allowed.

The questions will be a mix of those submitted prior to the event and those submitted the night of the event by audience members.

During the event, only the candidates and moderator are allowed to speak. Audience members are asked to remain silent during the event, so every candidate can be heard. Anyone being disruptive will be asked to leave.

The candidates have agreed that, on the night of the event, the Carroll County Civic Center will be a neutral space, meaning no campaign materials (i.e. signage, t-shirts, hats, flags, stickers, magnets, etc.) are allowed inside or in close proximity to the building.

Refreshments will be hors d’oeuvres with tea, lemonade, water and coffee.

This is a free event, and the public is invited to attend.

For those who cannot attend in person, at least two media outlets in attendance will broadcast the event live on the web.

Due to time constraints, candidates for other Carroll County positions will not be speaking the night of the event, but will instead be asked to provide a video or written statement about the position they are seeking and their vision. This will allow the media to deliver the other candidates’ messages to the voters while keeping the run time of the event to a manageable 2.5 hours, with two rounds of questions and a 10-minute break.

County-level positions on the August ballot are Circuit Court Clerk, County Mayor, Assessor of Property, County Clerk, Trustee, Register of Deeds, Sheriff, Road Supervisor and County Commission Districts 1-9.

The early voting period for the August election is July 17 - August 1. Election day is August 6, 2026.

Use the Google Form to submit a question for the Sheriff Candidates. This Google Form link will open in a new window.