Llano County Sheriff

Bill Blackburn

Age: 70

Education: Bachelor of Science degree from West Texas State and hold a Master Peace Officer license

Family: Married; three children with seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild

Experience: Llano County sheriff for past seven years; retired as Texas game warden in 2007 with 36 years; 44  years of overall law enforcement experience.

Party affiliation: Republican

What do you wish to accomplish?

I would like to continue my service as sheriff to continually improve the sheriff’s office and the service it provides to the community.

I am honest, principled and believe and practice fairness and impartiality in the business of law enforcement. It is my responsibility as sheriff to serve the people of the county equally and without bias. I have proven myself to the public that I have the character, honesty and dedication to continue as sheriff.

Why are you the most qualified candidate?

I have by far the most experience and dedication to the people of Llano County of any candidate for sheriff and am the only candidate to know what it means to be sheriff and the responsibilities that go along with actually being sheriff. There will be no learning period. I only ask that the people find out who you are voting for before you vote. The people have been trusting me for 36 years. I have not changed.

Jack Derington

Age: 69

Education/Experience: Attended Texas Tech University; Texas DPS Academy; U.S. Sky Marshal training; U.S. Customs Special Agent training; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration training; U.S Drug Enforcement Administration instructor

Family: Married; three children and four grandchildren

Party affiliation: Republican

What do you wish to accomplish?

As sheriff of Llano County, I want to instill leadership and the experience that I have to Llano County Sheriff’s Office employees. I believe, as a resident of Kingsland, and a retired federal narcotics agent, I will be able to establish a more effective deployment of law enforcement personnel to all of Llano County. I want to use my experience to bring the Llano County Sheriff’s Office to a higher level of professionalism.

Why are you the most qualified candidate?

My experience in law enforcement qualifies me to be the sheriff of Llano County.

Jared Latta

Age: 33

Education: Tyler College in Tyler; graduated top of the class at Eastfield College Police Academy in Mesquite

Family: Married; one daughter

Experience: Llano County Sheriff’s Office; Terrell County Sheriff’s Office (Texas-Mexico Border); Smith County Sheriff’s Office; currently at Llano Police Department for the past two-plus years

Party affiliation: Republican

What do you wish to accomplish?

I have many goals I would like to accomplish as sheriff, all of which are working toward my ultimate goal of making Llano County a better place to live, work and play.

These are some of my goals: Countywide coverage to help lower response times. I believe that all citizens should receive 24-hour patrol, which I know isn’t occurring now. I plan to create patrol sectors so that all areas of the county will have coverage, not just when you call for our assistance in a time of crisis. We will review and adopt new policies to efficiently serve the county. We will create a complete comprehensive policy manual to include how to apply manpower while people take leave such as vacations and sick time. We will also create an SOP, or Standard Operating Procedures Manual, to help guide deputies through their duties to the public and protect the county from lawsuits and unnecessary debts. I will always maintain an open and transparent department. As your sheriff, I will be available to answer questions and concerns that you may have. My door will always be open for you to express your concerns. My policies will be made available for public viewing if any questions arise about the conduct of the sheriff’s office. I will work to create a more professional, efficient, responsive and community-involved department. We will recruit, train and retain quality sheriff’s office staff. We will hire individuals who are part of our community and who have a vested interest in making our community a better and safer place to live, work and play. This will, in turn, also make a more responsive and efficient sheriff’s office.

Why are you the most qualified candidate?

I am the candidate that has the most diverse level of experience. I have owned my own business where I was a FEMA contractor supplying emergency housing in disaster zones all across the country. I have worked with people from all walks of life in times of crisis. I have also worked for Dr Pepper Snapple Group, a Fortune 500 company, as the QMCSO administrator (Qualified Medical Child Support Order). While in that role, I created and managed all the systems and processes for the entire company worldwide. I was not only the systems manager but also a people manager as I had other employees that were assigned to my team. I have worked in the law enforcement field at agencies from seven sworn officers to over 200. I have the leadership and the management experience it takes to lead a department into the 21st century. I also have the experience working with groups of people in order to achieve a common goal.

James Schilling

Age: 54

Education: High school graduate with some college

Family: Married; six children

Experience: I have over 22 years of law enforcement experience. I worked for the Llano Police Department for over 21 years — five years as a patrolman, two years as sergeant and 14 years as chief of police. Currently, I am a deputy with the San Saba County Sheriff’s Office.

What do you wish to accomplish?

I want to improve the quality of law enforcement in Llano County. I want to improve the relationships between the Llano County Sheriff’s Office and the citizens of Llano County, the other entities of the county and the surrounding areas.

Why are you the most qualified candidate?

I Love Llano. Llano is my home and has been for over 23 years. I have the experience with supervision, management and being a department head for over 14 years as chief of police. I have 14 years of experience dealing with a governing body of four council people, a mayor and city manager for the city of Llano, similar to four commissioners and the county judge overseeing the county’s government. I believe in fair and honest law enforcement “doing the right thing.”

Aimee Overstreet Shannon

Education: Llano High School graduate; attended CAPCOG Academy in 1996; earned Texas State Peace Officer’s license in August 1996

Family: Married; five children and seven grandchildren

Experience: Air Force Reserves 1987-1991; 19½ years in law enforcement with majority at Llano County Sheriff’s Office and Llano Police Department; served as patrol officer, sergeant patrol officer, sergeant investigator and team leader of the Llano County Sheriff’s entry team.

Party affiliation: Republican

What do you wish to accomplish?

During my years of working in Llano County, I have seen the county grow along with the crime rate, which is not acceptable. As sheriff, I want to make changes in the sheriff’s office to be more aggressive on fighting crime. I want to target high-crime areas throughout the county while working with our community. We need to update our radios and the CAD system for our dispatchers. These areas are of great importance because of the safety issues that affect our first responders and our community as a whole. I want more training for our staff. I want a better working relationship with all municipalities, constables, commissioners and judges. We need to work together for the common goal of Llano County.

Why are you the most qualified candidate?

I have proven over these 19½ years to be a leader, hardworking, fair, approachable, ethical and, most of all, a person you can count on to get the job done.