Politically Speaking

Tim Whitney had always wanted to be in law enforcement. And he achieved his goal by working his way up to being the second-in-command at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

But after a number of years of overseeing day-to-day operations for the agency, Whitney is making the transition to politics by running for Jefferson County executive — something he said is a continuation of his public service and his love for his home county.

“I love Jefferson County,” Whitney said on St. Louis Public Radio’s “Politically Speaking.” “As I say that, I can hear listeners gasping or rolling their eyes because that's a political answer. As somebody who has been in law enforcement my whole life… When I said those words, they were taken at face value. The day you become a politician, there's a sense of skepticism that applies to that. And there should be because of the things politicians before have done.”

Whitney is running against John Stockton in the GOP primary on Aug. 4. The winner will be the heavy favorite to succeed Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon, who is not running for re-election.

The St. Louis County Democrat is one of two candidates seeking his party’s nomination to replace Jake Zimmerman, who hopes to be the next St. Louis County executive.

John Stockton has never run for political office before.

But when incumbent Jefferson County Executive Dennis Gannon decided not to run for another term, he thought the time had come in his life to enter the political arena.

Stockton, who operates several businesses in Jefferson County, said his motivation for jumping into the GOP primary is about giving back to the place that he’s called home for almost all of his life.

“There comes a point in time where it's not about titles or positions anymore,” Stockton said. “It's about ultimately giving back to the county that's given me everything.”

Stockton is running in the Aug. 4 Republican primary against Tim Whitney, who is the undersheriff for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department. Stockton said that he’s knocked on over 5,000 doors and is hearing a desire for the county government to be more service oriented.

The St. Ann Democrat is one of two candidates seeking his party’s nomination to replace Jake Zimmerman, who hopes to be the next St. Louis County executive.

The Democrat from Florissant is one of three seeking the party’s nomination to replace Sam Page. The winner of the August primary will face Republican and Green party candidates in November.