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There was a debate this week between the candidates for Indian River County Sheriff.
Incumbent Sheriff Eric Flowers has been with the agency since 2003 and became the county's 11th sheriff in 2021. Flowers told voters that he wants to add more technology for school safety and provide better pay to his deputies.
The agency's former deputy chief, Milo Thornton says a change is needed. He says the "culture of the sheriff's office is the problem from the top."
Fellsmere Police Chief Keith Touchberry is also in this race. He became Fellsmere's chief in 2013 and says he wants to solve a retention issue within the agency.
Those three candidates will face-off in the August 20th Republican primary.
The winner will face write-in candidate Deborah Cooney in November. She's a civil rights activists who says she wants to improve community policing and save taxpayers money. She also promised to "stop all the waste that's happening in the Sheriff's budget."
The debate was hosted and mediated by the Taxpayers' Association of Indian River County and key topics discussed were illegal immigration, school safety and homelessness.