ELECTION 2024: Orangeburg County sheriff faces challenger in rematch (2024)

The race for Orangeburg County sheriff is between two candidates who’ve faced off in recent years: incumbent Sheriff Leroy Ravenell and Darnell “Bubba” Johnson.

The Democrats will face each other in the June 11 primary. Early voting is underway.

Ravenell defeated Johnson in the 2016 and 2020 primaries. Johnson also filed to run in 2012, but was one of about 200 candidates who were kicked off ballots statewide after a court ruled they failed to file their paperwork correctly.

Leroy Ravenell

Ravenell, a lifelong native of the Santee area, has been serving as Orangeburg County’s sheriff since Jan. 25, 2011. He’s been re-elected every term since.

He graduated magna cum laude from Claflin University with a bachelor’s degree in sociology/criminal justice and earned a master’s degree in criminal justice from Troy University, Troy, Alabama.

“As a 37-year law enforcement officer, I have served all those years in Orangeburg County,” the 59-year-old said.

“I have worked in the county and raised my family in the county my entire career,” Ravenell added.

“The respect of my peers as a law enforcement professional has afforded me the opportunity to represent Orangeburg County on both the state and national level. Being the sheriff of Orangeburg County is not a game for me. I understand the weight and responsibility of this position and that the decisions that I make can literally in some cases be life-or-death decisions,” he said.

“I do not shy away from the fact that there is more work to be done and ways that we can improve, but I have been consistently present, working with the community and our partners on ways to improve. I have shown Orangeburg County my integrity by being transparent and honest with them with the information that I give them and not using false narratives to create fear and hopelessness,” he added.

“Orangeburg County is home, and I am dedicated to ensuring it is safe for your families and mine. I am grateful for the opportunity that the county has given me, and I do not take it lightly,” he said.

If voters reelect Ravenell, he says the agency will continue to:

• Work with the Orangeburg County School District to obtain grant funding for additional school resource officers.

• Enhance interaction with the community through the PowerEngage computer software, which allows the sheriff’s office to upload key information from crime victims and witnesses through a portal without them having to physically come to the law enforcement complex. The software also allows the department to computerize policies and obtain immediate feedback with customer service surveys. PowerEngage is instrumental in the agency’s ongoing accreditation process.

• Advocate for additional personnel to assist with the growing county.

• Work with local universities and colleges to help students obtain bachelor’s and postgraduate degrees.

• Work with local business partners to educate sheriff’s office personnel about mental health and financial planning.

Some of the office’s accomplishments under Ravenell’s leadership include:

• Development of the multi-personnel training division, which provides monthly, in-service training for sworn employees, pre-academy training for new hires and supplementary instruction throughout the year.

• Installation of cameras throughout the county, which has led to arrests in homicides and burglaries.

• Partnering with the Orangeburg County School District for assistance in securing grants to place the highest number of school resource officers ever into the public elementary, middle and high schools.

• Obtaining a mobile command center, which allows deputies to have a centrally located work area when responding to critical incidents.

• Increasing personnel within the criminal investigations and patrol departments.

• Providing successful summer camps in each of the county’s four regions: eastern, northern, western and central.

• Leading gang awareness and education programs for schools, churches and partnering agencies.

• Holding “Know Us Before You Need Us” information sessions throughout the county.

• Strengthening the partnerships between the agency and MUSC Health-Orangeburg, Orangeburg County Probate Court and the S.C. Department of Mental Health to streamline the custodial processing of mental health patients.

Ravenell has served in the following capacities:

• National Sheriff’s Association Crime Victims Services Committee member. The committee includes 13 other sheriffs nationwide.

• Advisory member of the S.C. Attorney General’s Department of Crime Victim Compensation Board

• Executive board member of the U.S. Attorney Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee

• Member of the S.C. Homeland Security Advisory Board

• Executive board member of the S.C. Sheriff’s Association

• Advisory member of the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College Criminal Justice Degree Board

• Board member for Orangeburg Preparatory Schools

• President of the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association in 2023

He has received the following honors:

• 2011 Warrior of the Year by the non-profit organization Healing Species

• December 2011 Character Employee of the Month for leadership

• Sheriff of the Year in 2013, an honor given by the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association during the centennial celebration of the organization

• Recognition as a Shining Star in 2024 by the Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention of South Carolina

• Law Enforcement Administrator of the Year by the S.C. Association of School Resource Officers

Ravenell is a current member of the National Sheriffs’ Association, the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association, Palmetto State Law Enforcement Officers Association, Fraternal Order of Police, Association for Public Safety Communications Officials, Edisto Lodge #39, the Robert S. Wilkinson Consistory #220 and a lifetime member of the NAACP.

Ravenell and his wife have two sons and one daughter.

Darnell “Bubba” Johnson

Johnson, 40, was born and raised in Orangeburg.

He graduated from Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School.

He then earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Claflin University and a master’s degree in criminal justice from Columbia College.

He served in the United States Marine Corps and the S.C. National Guard.

He has a son and daughter.

Johnson says “I plan to achieve a 50 percent reduction in crime countywide” if elected.

“This alone improves the quality of life for everyone. I also plan to increase officer presence by increasing the number of deputies assigned to the field from six per shift to at least 16 per shift, which will allow for overlapping law enforcement coverage countywide,” he said.

“This initiative will not cost any additional money to the county taxpayers,” he claims.

“This will allow the sheriff’s office to become proactive against crime versus reactive towards it. I will also encourage and implement mutual aid agreements with all law enforcement agencies within Orangeburg County and neighboring counties to afford greater law enforcement coverage for our citizens, visitors and friends, thus providing excellence in customer service to our citizens,” he said.

Johnson said he also plans to bring a “multifaceted crime plan” to the sheriff’s office.

He said the crime plan will address “recidivism, social determinants of health, diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Johnson said he will also improve the office’s follow-up with residents.

He said he will bring “leadership and integrity” to the sheriff’s office, if elected.

“Crime and criminals alike have advanced beyond today’s law enforcement capabilities under the current sheriff’s administration,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he will “bring hope to the office of sheriff.”

“Our communities have lost hope countywide. The word of God states, ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick,’” he said, referencing the first portion of Proverbs 13:12.

Johnson said the Bible passage means, “The longer a person goes without seeing their hope realized, the more they are likely to become discouraged.”

Johnson said he brings over a decade of business experience needed for creating budgets.

“I bring law enforcement accreditation experience to the office of sheriff,” he said.

“The sheriff’s office will no longer operate as a ‘free fall’ agency, but rather one that is built on policy and procedures that guarantee excellence in customer service and customer experience,” Johnson said.

Some of Johnson’s achievements include:

• Founding Valley Coach & Logistics LLC and Valley Coach & Logistics Commercial Driver Training School, with locations in Orangeburg and Summerville. Johnson is CEO of those companies.

• Founding Grass Masters of South Carolina, where he also works as CEO.

• Becoming an S.C. certified law enforcement officer and S.C. certified firefighter in 2007

• Becoming a U.S. certified federal law enforcement officer in 2017

• Certification as a Crime Prevention Specialist

Johnson is a member of the S.C. Sheriffs’ Association and the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce.