Matt Ward makes final campaign statement for Republican Sheriff candidate
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my supporters and the hundreds of people I have had the pleasure of meeting during my campaign to be your next Sheriff. From the very beginning, with the help and support of my friends and family, I decided to run a campaign that would allow me to meet as many of you as possible by knocking on your door and meeting you personally in an environment that would provide for a more personal dialogue about your thoughts and desires for the future of our Sheriff’s Department.
Over the past few months, many of my campaign supporters and I have had the pleasure of knocking on over 1,000 doors to meet with you one-on-one to better understand your priorities and concerns for Botetourt County. Getting out in the community and meeting you personally has been rewarding and informative. Your various perspectives and insights have helped inform my thinking on how best to ensure the safety and wellbeing of you, your family and our community.
Because my work schedule is different from the typical 9-to-5 I, along with my campaign staff decided to plan my campaign activities and events months ahead of time and some before the nomination process was even decided. The reality is that working a schedule of 12-hour shifts that rotates between nights and days every other week was always going to limit my participation in events that those with a more routine work calendar have had the ability to attend. A majority of my vacation leave was expended to make events on weekends I would have otherwise been obligated to work. This is why my main goal has always been to meet with you one-on-one through door knocking, the various community events and fundraisers we have held over the past few months. However, the unfortunate reality is that I simply won’t be able meet with all of you in the time we have to campaign before the primary.
This is why I’m so grateful for the civic organizations that have hosted and allowed me to speak with many of you during this campaign. The 5 that I have been able to participate in have hopefully been as engaging and informative for you as they have been for me. Thank you for taking the time and showing interest in listening to my campaign’s platform. I would also like to thank my campaign staff, volunteers and the countless people who have helped me host the 6 meet-and-greets and 4 fundraising events over the course of the campaign. Your support and the many hours spent on my behalf introduced me and my platform to more than 1,500 people. Every single event has been a success and could not have been accomplished without your dedication and faith in our campaign.
Throughout this time, I have also enjoyed attending more than 20 community events around Botetourt County. The proactive nature of our citizens is contagious and as your Sheriff I will continue to cultivate the relationship the Sheriff’s Department has with the citizens of Botetourt County.
As June 11th approaches we are entering the final push in reaching as many voters as possible before the primary. I ask for your continued support in helping us finish this campaign in success. Your support and willingness to share my platform in person and on social media with others has been extremely effective in reaching voters that I may otherwise not have been able to reach in this short period of time.
I ask for your Vote on June 11th. Vote at your normal polling location. All 10 polling locations will be open in Botetourt County 6AM to 7PM. All registered voters in Botetourt County are eligible to vote in this election.
Matthew T Ward
Candidate for Botetourt County Sheriff
