Is it time to cross over?

Once again Republicans in Bibb County are forced to wonder why on earth the tax commissioner and sheriff are partisan positions. In the upcoming elections, most every position in county government is now nonpartisan, but the sheriff and tax commissioner races will be decided in the Democratic Primary.

The reality of many counties across the South is that the region may have shifted Republican at the state and national level, but many local positions remain strongholds of Democratic voters. Republicans, therefore, have to decide whether or not to cross over and vote in the Democratic Primary.

The local Republican Party position is always to declare that no Republican should vote Democrat, but then wink and nod. For local Republicans, the real question is whether they will once again cross over into the Democratic Party to help Democrats stop the perennial candidate, C. Jack Ellis. This time, Jack is back running for tax commissioner.

Like the prior tax commissioner, the current Tax Commissioner Wade McCord finds himself in his position because of his predecessor's departure. Tommy Tedders had, like McCord, been chief deputy tax commissioner until his boss left, forcing Tedders into the elected position, which he ably mastered and held. When Tedders retired, Chief Deputy Tax Commissioner Wade McCord became the tax commissioner and has to suffer through an election to keep his job. He has absolutely earned it.

Then there is the sheriff's position. David Davis won the election to succeed Jerry Modena. Modena had, himself, been an outstanding sheriff. Davis upped the standing of the office by navigating the difficult waters of consolidation successfully. No dramatic change like that could make everyone happy, but Davis did his best to make the consolidation of the Macon police and Bibb County Sheriff's Office as painless as possible.

Davis has really been the leader we have needed in that position for the transition. He did not ask for that transition, but rose to the occasion in ways all of us should appreciate. His reward? A former sheriff's deputy, Timothy Rivers, who had to be disciplined is now running against Davis and accused Davis of being in the Ku Klux Klan. The charge is absolutely scurrilous. The former deputy was demoted, quoting the Telegraph, "after an Internal Affairs probe into a November 2014 incident found that he'd violated department policies, according to court documents."

Now Sheriff Davis has to stand for re-election against that guy and another retired deputy, Mike Smallwood.

Republicans need to consider that the governance and well-being of their county is more important than the purity of their Republican voting record and cross over. McCord and Davis are the best candidates for their positions and the Republicans themselves have offered no alternative candidates. For Republicans to refuse to vote in the Democratic Primary is to forego voting at all on two of the most important offices in the county: sheriff and tax commissioner.

Our local delegation, which made the Macon-Bibb County Commission races nonpartisan, might need to consider future changes to these partisan positions. During my time in local government, I never knew what the Republican or Democratic position on trash collection were. There are certainly ideological positions, but not partisan positions on those issues. In the same way, I have no idea what the partisan position on law enforcement is. What I do know is that David Davis is an excellent sheriff and Wade McCord, only recently in his new position, deserves a full term to see his capabilities.

As a result, I will cross over to vote for both men in the May primary. Other Republicans should too.

Erick Erickson is a Fox News contributor and radio talk show host in Atlanta.

This story was originally published March 31, 2016 at 9:08 PM.