‘Honoring Sheriff Talton in everything.’ Matt Moulton wins Houston County sheriff’s race

Republican Matt Moulton captured the sheriff’s post in Houston County, edging out Democrat Arthur Lee Harris with 59.37% of the vote.

Moulton earned 47,393 votes, compared to 32,437 cast for Harris, according to Tuesday’s unofficial vote totals.

Moulton succeeds the late Cullen Talton, the nation’s longest serving sheriff.

“It’s just a great feeling, you know, to see the amount of work and the investment that Sheriff Talton made in me,” Moulton said from his watch party at the Houston Lake Country Club in Perry.

“He has prepared me well for this task that I’ve got ahead of me, and I’m looking forward to serving the citizens of Houston County and honoring Sheriff Talton in everything that I do.”

The victory was bittersweet for Moulton.

“With the passing of Sheriff Talton two weeks ago and then today at 12:30, I lost my stepdad. He passed away after a battle with leukemia and dementia,” said Moulton, who was able to spend the afternoon with his family and then join the watch party for the election results.

“I’ve got a lot of emotions that I’m working through right now, and I’m excited, but you know, I lost one of my biggest cheerleaders today and that’s tough,” he said.

His stepdad, Allen Slentz, was 74.

Moulton was endorsed Jan. 23 by Talton, who served nearly 52 years as sheriff and was less than three months from retirement when he died Oct. 19 at age 92.

Moulton spoke at his funeral.

“Sheriff Talton will never leave the Houston County Sheriff’s Office because he will reside in my heart and the men and women in blue that you see from front to back here,” Moulton said at the funeral. “Sheriff, we love you.”

Billy Rape, who served as Talton’s chief deputy and was one of the original deputies who joined Talton when he took command in 1972, is serving as the interim sheriff under state law until Moulton is sworn into office in early January.

Moulton, 50, a captain over criminal investigations at the Houston County Sheriff’s Office, ran on his 28 years of law enforcement experience.

Sunday, he reports to the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association headquarters to begin a four-week class for newly elected sheriffs.

He campaigned on key issues of staffing, violent crime among young people, and leading the sheriff’s office to seek accreditation with the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association through its newly developed accreditation process.

Moulton also pledged to keep Talton’s open door policy, allowing the public to come speak with him.

“The first thing I’m going to do is address our recruiting and try to get our manpower numbers back up to staff where they need to be,” Moulton said after winning the election.

“I want to start working with community leaders and churches and bringing programs to the forefront for the youth, especially the at-risk youth in Houston County. I want to look at bringing a police athletic league to Houston County.”

In the May 21 primary, Moulton emerged as the Republican nominee with 56.64% of the vote in a four-way race. Harris faced no opposition in the Democratic primary.

Harris, a former Houston County sheriff’s deputy and Warner Robins police officer, waited for results at Houston County Democratic headquarters off Watson Blvd.

“I feel great,” said Harris, after the results were in. “I thank the citizens of Houston County who came out and voted for me, and I thank all the citizens of Houston County that voted.

“They spoke, and I’m in agreement with them. I wish my opponent all the luck in the world. He know that I will be here if he needs me to help him in any manner to make Houston County the best place in the world to live,” he said.

Harris, 77, came out of retirement to run for sheriff after a February incident outside a Warner Robins dealership in which a 14-year-old was fatally shot.

He also coached for 35 years at the Warner Robins Recreation Department.

His campaign platform included a host of initiatives, including establishing a ride along with deputies, a junior deputy program and a self-defense program for the community, increasing Neighborhood Watch programs and deputy presence in neighborhoods and opening the county’s firing range for law enforcement to civilians.

Key issues for Harris included staffing at the detention center, deputy pay and the deputy promotion system.

This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 11:49 PM.