The race for sheriff will be decided in the Republican primary election this year. No Democratic candidate has filed.

Incumbent Jeff Soyez and former sheriff’s sergeant Travis Wilson, also former Peabody police chief, are on the ballot.

Soyez “respectfully declined” to be interviewed. Instead of saying so directly, he relayed that message through Undersheriff Larry Starkey.

Wilson said he would bring back to the sheriff’s office an atmosphere of working as a team.

He thinks the sheriff should spend time on patrol instead of spending most of his time in the office doing administrative duties. The sheriff would be seen in every town in the county, not just when someone had to call 911.

Wilson previously worked under sheriffs Lee Becker and Rob Craft, who died in 2022 from complications of COVID-19.

“I learned a lot from Rob Craft,” Wilson said. “I learned a lot from (former undersheriff) David Huntley.”

Huntley retired in 2021 and died in 2022.

All served as role models. Wilson thinks sheriffs should be role models to deputies, especially those just out of training academy.

Deputies have a challenge to learn how to react instead of being in constant overdrive, he said.

“If there was a magic switch to flip, it would be nice,” he said, “but there’s not.”

Wilson said senior deputies used to work with newer deputies, mentoring them as they learned the best way to do their jobs.

“When I was a sergeant, I led by example, not by telling people things,” he said. “I think they just need somebody to go out and do things with them.”

An example of this is that everybody should be “very aware of what’s going on” when a search warrant is being executed, Wilson said.

Search team members should know something about the investigation that gave rise to the warrant, not simply that a judge has signed the warrant.

His top reason for running is that Wilson thinks if Craft were still alive, he would want the department to be going in the direction it was going when he died.

“After Rob died, it wasn’t the same,” Wilson said.

As he saw it, the camaraderie no longer was present.

“I was not enjoying my job,” Wilson said. “It didn’t matter what you did, you made somebody mad.”

Wilson said he used discretion in circumstances such as whether someone needed a citation or a warning. His goal is to teach people.

“I’m a firm believer that if you can teach someone something, that’s important,” he said. “I honestly believe if you can fix it by talking to them, that’s good.”

He’s likely to give someone a warning for minor traffic offenses such as having a tag light out or driving slightly over the speed limit.

If he sees the same person with the same infraction the next day, it’s time for a citation, he said.

Some things leave no room for discretion, he noted. Domestic violence and driving under the influence require an arrest.

He believes how things are handled makes all the difference.

“No matter who I arrested, I tried to end it on a positive note,” Wilson said. “If I see them on the street the next day, I’ll shake their hand.”

If he had to cut 10% from the budget, he said he would look for places such as eliminating a training class — but not law enforcement training for new officers.

The sheriff’s office performs extra patrols in Marion and Peabody now that police departments are short-staffed.

He doesn’t think the county should charge those towns for the service because every county resident already pays property tax to cover police services.

If an event is privately sponsored, such as Peabody’s Fourth Fest or Florence’s Grand Prix, organizers should arrange security services instead of expecting the sheriff’s office to provide security.

Wilson, who grew up in Peabody, sees increases in crime throughout the county. He surmises that is because of changes in society.

“When I was coming up, the parents took care of discipline,” he said. “If they can run wild when they’re kids, they can run wild when they’re teens, they can run wild when they’re in college, and they can run wild when they’re adults.”