White County Sheriff Q10 Candidate Responses

The Main Street Journal – Sparta has been listening to the community. Over the past several weeks, readers have submitted questions they want answered ahead of the 2026 election—and we’ve taken those directly to your White County Sheriff candidates.

Here is your tenth question, and answers from those candidates who chose to respond.

Law enforcement agencies across Tennessee have struggled with recruitment and retention. How would you attract and keep qualified deputies?

STEVE PAGE:The way I retain my employees is by treating them with respect and giving them the tools and training to succeed in their chosen career path.

Law Enforcement officers are definitely under paid by most counties and this is why it’s hard to retain qualified deputies. Our County Commission has to be sure that all departments across emergency services in White County have a competitive pay scale and proper benefits to assure we can retain our qualified employees

DANIEL TRIVETTE: Leadership wasn’t something I understood early in my career. I spent years as a supervisor before I ever learned what it truly means to lead. Real leadership is service, putting others first, investing in their success, and creating a vision that inspires your team to grow and achieve more.

If you want to recruit good people, you must first retain good people. And retention doesn’t come from some “magic” salary. Human nature always wants a little more. True job satisfaction comes from reducing fear and uncertainty in the workplace. That means providing solid training, using discipline as a teaching tool, not a hammer, and staying focused on helping employees succeed.

A strong organization develops its people. Supervisors should be training those beneath them to one day replace them. Cross-training builds confidence, encourages better decision-making, and strengthens the entire team.

John Maxwell makes a nice salary from his teachings and book sales by teaching the concept of servant leadership but he pulled this concept straight from the Bible. Servant leadership is crucial to investing into your people and building true employee retention.

This is the kind of leadership I believe in,and the kind I will bring to our Sheriff’s Office.

The Main Street Journal - Sparta's 2026 Election Coverage is brought to you by Tennessee Credit.