Fentanyl Actually Proving to be Greatest Issue in Sheriff’s Race

Sheriff's Race

Early voting has ended in Williamson County, Texas, and more than half of all registered Voters there have cast their ballots. The next President and Vice President are not the only two positions being voted for in the election. In fact, some people believe that the smaller local positions are more important due to the fact that they could affect our personal lives significantly more. One such vote in Williamson County is the election of Sherrif.

Mike Gleason is the Sherrif, and he is running against Matthew Lindemann. Lindemann is the Precinct 3 Constable.

Small County, Big Issues

Williamson County is considered to be more rural than Travis County. Williamson County only has a population of just under 700,000, meanwhile, Travis County (which houses Austin) has a population over 1,000,000. Despite this, Williamson County is still important to the Travis County area due to its population of commuters that regularly travel into Austin for work.

Deadly Drug Overdose Numbers Continue to Rise

Fentanyl has become a major issue all over the country, and Williamson County is no exception. In 2022, across the US, fentanyl was involved in roughly 90% of opioid-related overdose deaths. The fentanyl crisis is one of the major focuses for the two candidates running for sheriff of Williamson County.

Candidates' Plan to Combat Fentanyl

Sheriff Mike Gleason wants to take a forceful approach to the current problem. Gleason feels that many of the counties that may just be conduits for the drugs to major cities, and not the final destination, shouldn't look at it as their problem. Sheriff Gleason, on the other hand, wants to stop the product in route to prevent it from ever reaching its customers.

Meanwhile, Constable Linderman wants to be more proactive. He believes that social programs intended to educate children on the dangers of opioids and other narcotics will prevent them from using the pills in the first place. There will be no reason to ship them into the city in the first place if there are no customers in the area to buy the drugs.

Vote!