Sheriff Town Hall, Community Forum Next Week

CARROLL COUNTY (June 22) — Monday, June 29 is the last chance for voters to submit questions prior to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Town Hall and Community Forum happening on 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 be in attendance, with retired Circuit Court Judge Donald Parish serving as the moderator.

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

Voters are encouraged to take advantage of this rare, unedited look at the three candidates together in-person answering the public’s questions.

Each sheriff candidate will provide opening and closing statements and will be asked a series of questions submitted by voters.

Questions must be related to the Sheriff’s position. No irrelevant questions allowed.

The questions can be submitted prior to and on the night of the event by audience members via paper form.

Submit a question by using the form in this edition or the Google Form at https://forms.gle/Kqvz67cEH4DHUtFs5

During the event, the moderator will ask the submitted questions, and the candidates will have two minutes to answer.

Guests are asked to remain silent during the question and answer portion of the event so that every candidate can be heard. Anyone being disruptive will be asked to leave.

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.

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.