Hege Makes It Official

DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. - WXII12.com

The “Vote for Hege” signs in front of 1,800 homes in Davidson County don’t lie.

Former Davidson County Sheriff Gerald Hege confirmed Thursday he will run for sheriff in 2010 during an interview with The High Point Enterprise.

“I will be a conservative candidate, a conservative Republican, a candidate in 2010 for sheriff,” Hege said, sitting outside a camper that is serving as his campaign headquarters on Lexington Avenue in Thomasville.

Earlier this year, signs supporting Hege’s bid for another term started popping up in Davidson County. The once-controversial sheriff, who claimed in September he was “testing the waters” with the signs, said he would run for sheriff if he had 200 requests for campaign signs by Thanksgiving and then another 300 by Christmas.

According to the former sheriff, he currently has 1,800 signs that all have been requested in front of Davidson County homes, causing him to officially announce his candidacy. Hege, 60, resigned as sheriff in 2004 and pleaded guilty to two felony counts of obstruction of justice for attempting to cover up money missing from the vice narcotics unit of the sheriff’s office. The former sheriff, who was elected in 1994, ended his probation in May 2007.

“The minute I resigned, under the circumstances I did, I knew right then that I am not a quitter,” he said. “... I just loved the job. It was never about the prestige. It was about the fact that I really got to do something I love. I miss it. I just think that I am still good at it, and I want to go back.”

After finishing his probation, Hege could vote and also run for sheriff again. He registered to vote as a Republican on Oct. 10, 2008.

Davidson County Sheriff David Grice, a Republican, said previously that he will run for sheriff in 2010. Hege and Grice would face off in a primary on May 4, 2010. Filing doesn’t begin for sheriff until February.

This article appeared in Friday's edition of the High Point Enterprise.

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