DA Will Kendall announces Houston County Sheriff bid

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — An established leader at the District Attorney’s Office announced his bid for law enforcement leadership on Tuesday. District Attorney Will Kendall made the official announcement on Dec. 12 of his campaign for Houston County Sheriff in a release.

Kendall has been the District Attorney since 2021. Before his role as District Attorney, Kendall worked in multiple law enforcement roles, nearly three times longer than his lawyer roles.

Kendall started his career in the Marines, serving for eight years. During his time, he was stationed in Iraq with a military working dog and worked in criminal investigations, investigating cases for the Department of Defense such as narcotics investigations, black market operations, child abuse cases, and many cases in between.

After graduating from Southern Illinois University School of Law, Kendall served as Assistant District Attorney in the Cordele Judicial Circuit, joining the Houston County District Attorney’s Office in 2020 as an Assistant District Attorney.

Speaking to the Journal, Kendall says he feels called to serve more proactively.

“A lot of stuff I have done as DA has been proactive in nature, not just waiting for the case file to come, but to understand what the issues are and work with all the agencies to try to make things happen on a more proactive upfront basis. To strengthen my ability, to continue that path and to be obedient to what I’ve been called to do, it’s led me to enter into the race to become the sheriff of Houston County,” Kendall said.

Kendall won many awards in his career and was monumental in starting the Houston County Counter Narcotics Task Force earlier this year, meant to pinpoint and prosecute drug dealers and suppliers in the area. Despite the accomplishments, Kendall said his greatest achievement is his service to victims in the community.

“Those individual experiences that I’ve had over the years and doing that in law enforcement are the things that kind of stick with me. It has emboldened me to want to be a good public servant and to take care of people and to listen and to work hard for them, because I see the value in having a safe community,” Kendall said.

Kendall said his inspiration to campaign stems from a deep-rooted respect for law enforcement and a desire to increase the county’s quality of life, citing citizen safety and employee morale as top priorities.

“I want to be able to address things more on an upfront role, because I see the need in Houston County as it continues to grow, and I think being the sheriff would be a prime position to be able to serve the people and to provide servant leadership to the people you work with,” Kendall said. “I want to enhance the quality of life for not only the deputies that I’d work with, but also the people in Houston County. I want my own wife and kids, if they’re coming back from something and it’s 9:30 at night, I want them to be able to go into the gas station and not fear for their lives. I don’t want to live in a community like that.”

If elected, Kendall would take the reins from a legendary leader. Current Sheriff Cullen Talton has been in the role for over 50 years and Kendall admitted he would have big shoes to fill, but is confident in his leadership ability and hopeful to continue Talton’s legacy.

“Sheriff Talton is legendary in his own right for the things that he’s been able to do and the way he has protected people and served the people of Houston County. The hope of any candidate for sheriff is to only uphold his legacy, but also to expand upon it. To continue his legacy but also to do things as our county continues to progress and grow, to combat issues that may come up,” Kendall said.

Describing himself as a servant leader, Kendall said his time in the Marines instilled in him strong leadership values, something he took to the District Attorney’s office and hopefully, to the Sheriff’s Office.

“I can tell you one thing that the Marine Corps does one thing and one thing Well, aside from winning battles. They teach people how to lead and that is a primary objective of being in the Marine Corps and certainly eight years of Marine Corps leadership experience goes a long way,” Kendall said.

To Kendall, his role is one for the people of Houston County and as sheriff, he said he would want to stay transparent and accessible.

“I don’t see my role as district attorney as being the end all be all boss of Houston County or a dictator. I don’t see that. What I see is I am a tax-paid public servant and I work for the people, period. So if somebody wants to come talk to me, if they want to express concerns or issues, if they bring a complaint to me, I take all those things seriously, and I make myself available,” Kendall said.

When he is not working, Kendall can be found fishing and spending time with family. Kendall has a 13-year old stepdaughter with Jessica, his wife, and is expecting a baby girl later this month.

More information on Kendall and his campaign can be found at https://www.kendall4sheriff.com.

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