Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal, who is seeking re-election in the fall, said, “My life priorities have always been easy to rank: God, family, America and Washington Parish. My earliest memories are of our piney woods and beautiful rivers. We live in a special place. I’m blessed that this is the place where my roots run deep. The truth is they couldn’t run deeper. Out of devotion to our community, I became your sheriff because I knew we needed to do more to keep Washington Parish safe.”
Seal said he told his loved ones he would seek a second term only after reflecting back and honestly asking himself if he had been successful in defending the people of Washington Parish and decided the answer to that is “yes.”
“I inherited an oncoming fiscal train wreck from the previous administration,” Seal said. “ I had no idea how bad things were financially when I ran. Records were in disarray. Our vehicle fleet was crippled. Our jail was far below my standards.
“The prior sheriff had run up over a million dollars in penalties and debts to the federal government. I’ll be honest with you. When I realized the depth of the hole he had dug, I wanted to panic. But, we rolled up our sleeves instead.
“We got our financial house in order. I saved the taxpayers from the financial disaster I inherited from the previous administration. Without the bold changes we initiated, the Sheriff’s Office would have collapsed financially. From negotiating lower rates for insurance, to partnering for discounted equipment, to ensuring fraud didn’t happen, to finding ways to make the civil division leaner, I took hundreds of actions to save the taxpayers millions of dollars. That required me making some tough calls, but those calls have saved you money.
“I’ve lost sleep most nights over the last few years thinking of ways to squeeze more out of every tax dollar. It hasn’t been in vain. We are now on track to eliminating the debt accumulated by prior sheriffs.
“While we have largely righted the sinking financial burden we inherited, we also improved the quality of law enforcement. We added additional deputies to patrols. We reinstated the previously disbanded Drug Task Force and commenced regular roundups of dangerous offenders. We upgraded the Detective Division. Your deputies are better trained than before, and their leaders are more approachable than ever. We have made Washington Parish safer.
“Thanks to innovative and no nonsense jail management, the parish jail has improved vastly. It is more efficient, more humane and more professional and the number of lawsuits inherited from the previous administration have been handled.
“Most of our successes have gone humbly unannounced, but I’m happy to share that some of our efforts have been recognized. For instance, we were awarded the 2014 Louisiana Support Enforcement Partnership Award for organizing parish wide roundups of dead-beat parents who were delinquent in child support payments.
“In a time of great animosity toward law enforcement in some parts of the country, Washington Parish has a sheriff’s office that excels at serving all groups in in a fair and impartial manner.
“Your trust in me as sheriff has been the great honor of my life, and your trust in me has been well placed. Your trust has allowed me to provide our community with an organization of efficiency, reliability and honesty. I’m proud to say your trust has created the best sheriff’s office our parish has had in a generation. And, you can trust in my sincere promise to you that I will continue to build on our success over the next four years.”
Seal is married to Sheila Brennan Seal.  The couple has five children and three grandchildren, with another one on the way.