Takeaways on Beaufort Co. Sheriff’s retirement: Will Tanner make an endorsement?
After 45 years in law enforcement and nearly three decades leading Beaufort County’s police force, Sheriff P.J. Tanner announced last week he was not seeking reelection.
On the first day of the filing period for sheriff candidates and other hopefuls in the Nov. 3 general election, Tanner spoke to reporters about his decision to retire, his long career in local policing and how he’ll weigh in on the upcoming sheriff’s race.
Here are the takeaways.
1. Tanner plans to make an endorsement
“Not only will I make an endorsement, but I’ll have a lot of things to say about things that need to be said. I’m not going to bite my tongue,” Tanner told reporters on Monday, adding that his “internal knowledge” of the department and its people would be valuable knowledge for voters.
Tanner declined to comment on whether any high-ranking staff at the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office were considering entering the sheriff’s race, saying it would be “getting ahead of things” prior to the filing period’s conclusion March 30.
“If you want to ask me that question April 1, I’ll answer it for you,” he said.
2. Further political ambitions?
“Never say never,” Tanner said, but as of Monday, he had no intentions of running for another office.
“People have asked me if I was going to run for the (South Carolina) House or Senate, or run for County Council,” Tanner said. “I’ve had my fair share of politics, and I really don’t have any ambition to do any more.”
The sheriff said he’s aiming for several final achievements before the end of his seventh and final term on Jan. 5, 2027, including reimplementing gap health insurance for all county employees and securing funds for a proposed $100 million new law enforcement headquarters in Okatie while not relying entirely on taxpayer dollars.
3. Why Tanner is retiring
Tanner said his decision to retire wasn’t made last week, and that it followed years of internal discussions and “look(ing) at the future with my family.”
“I’ll be 67 (on) my birthday in January 2027. There’s nothing about me retiring that has anything to do with me personally, as far as health or any of those things,” Tanner said. “It’s just the right decision to make at the right time. You’ve got to make the decision sometime.”
Also acknowledging how much has changed in his time in office — like crime rising in tandem with Beaufort County’s substantial population growth — the sheriff said a “new vision” at his department may be in order.
“This county has changed a lot — some for the best, some not so good ... and this county is going to change a lot more in the next year and the next several years, with the growth around us,” Tanner said. “And it may be time for new energy; it may be time for a new perspective ... as we move forward, and that’s fine. That’s what happened to me when I took over the sheriff’s office in 1999.”
