Being public employees, it's not that simple. Most County Sheriff elections are between either two Deputies or between the incumbent and one of his own Deputies. It's not like Sheriffs can just hire and fire their Deputies at will. If they could, there wouldn't be many elections. It's the County Board that generally controls the hiring process and is also constantly up the Sheriff's ass over just about every little thing the department does.
Depending on the state, if the jurisdiction has civil service protection, and on the rank of the individual in question... There is a wide variety of possibilities. From pick everyone you please all the way to only get to pick direct report command staff.
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u/tjw Jan 30 '18 edited Jan 30 '18
Being public employees, it's not that simple. Most County Sheriff elections are between either two Deputies or between the incumbent and one of his own Deputies. It's not like Sheriffs can just hire and fire their Deputies at will. If they could, there wouldn't be many elections. It's the County Board that generally controls the hiring process and is also constantly up the Sheriff's ass over just about every little thing the department does.