White County Sheriff Q12 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 twelfth question, and answers from those candidates who chose to respond.

If elected, what would be your top three priorities during the next year?

STEVE PAGE:

• Keeping our schools safe is a top priority.

• Fighting the drugs in the county is a top priority.

• Training and educating the employees of the White County Sheriff’s Office is an absolute top priority for me. This is the only effective way to assure the safety and security of the citizens of White County.

Everything that comes to my attention is a top priority to me. Evey concern to the citizens of White County deserves to be reviewed and prioritized with importance. I strive to treat everyone and every concern the way I wanted to be treated.

DANIEL TRIVETTE: If I am elected to this position, my top three priorities in the first year are

1. Begin developing a strong field training program which will include a new supervisor training.

2. Restructure the sheriff office to make it more efficient. Move at least one position from administration to a boots on the ground position.

3. Create a strong drug enforcement program which will include working closely with various local and state agencies to begin combatting our drug problem.

The first year will also include updating policies, introducing the citizen academy and the chaplains program by the first of the year, and conducting audits throughout the agency to ensure that we are being efficient and everything is meeting standards. The most important thing is creating a strong foundation to build off of and to be able to be successful in moving the agency forward. That is why training and setting the standard for our agency is crucial to accomplishing our goals. Without a good foundation to build on we will not move forward as an agency to be able to deal with the issues we will face in the future.

I am ready to use my experience, education, training, and hard work ethic to go to work on Day One. I did not take this job application lightly and am ready to stop talking, roll up my sleeves, and actually implement the ideas and solutions in the first year. Changing the mindset of the agency can realistically take some time to see results but we must start immediately by implementing a vision to provide guidance for our officers and employees as we move forward.

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