November 2, 2021
By: Dwayne Page
A former employee at the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department has announced his intention to run for Sheriff in 2022.
Keneth Whitehead will be seeking the Republican nomination. The DeKalb County Republican Party will be meeting soon to decide whether GOP nominees for local offices in 2022 are to be selected by caucus or at the ballot box through the primary process which would be in May, 2022. The DeKalb County General Election is in August, 2022.
Whitehead’s complete announcement is as follows:
“After much consideration and many prayers, I am excited to announce my candidacy for DeKalb County Sheriff. I am a resident of DeKalb County, Tn. I am the son of Hilda Whitehead and the late Matthew Marshall Whitehead of Baxter, Tn. I am happily married to my best friend Tina Lackey Whitehead for 26 years, who is the daughter of the late Billy and Carolyn Lackey and granddaughter of the late James and Helen Driver Hendrixson of Smithville, Tn. She is a Medical Assistant at Family Medical Center in Smithville, Tn. We have two children, Ashlee Rankhorn and Madison Whitehead. Ashlee Rankhorn is happily married to Jacob Rankhorn for 4 years and between them both have given us two beautiful granddaughters. She is a licensed Surgical Technician. Madison Whitehead is in college at Tennessee Tech University and will graduate in May of 2022 with a degree in Elementary Education and is recently engaged to Blane Elkins of McMinnville, Tn.”.
“I am a member of the Elizabeth Chapel Baptist Church. I have a passion for law enforcement, and I have been in law enforcement for 21 years. I graduated Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy in 2003 in the top 5 of my class. During my time, through my hard work and dedication to the DeKalb County Sheriffs Department,I have advanced from Correctional Officer, to Deputy, to Patrol Supervisor, to School Resource Officer at the DeKalb County High School, and to School Resource Officer Supervisor. I have several certifications throughout my career including firearm instructor, DUI standardized field sobriety testing training, domestic violence training, basic clandestine laboratory training, drug investigation training, national association of school resource officer training, recipient of state school resource officer of the year, and more. I am very grateful for my years at the DeKalb County Sheriffs Department”.
“I am now currently employed at Warren County Sheriffs Department as the school resource officer at Dibrell Elementary. In my spare time, I enjoy hunting, golfing, playing and coaching softball, and spending time with my family. My family and I are very blessed to have this opportunity to run for sheriff of DeKalb County”.
“If elected, I promise to be a man of integrity, honesty, dedication, and professionalism. I ask for your support and prayers throughout this journey. I am thankful for the ones who have supported me thus far, and I am looking forward to meeting you all in the upcoming months. If anyone would like to contact me, please contact me through Facebook messenger or my email at Kwhitehead7170@yahoo.com.