A new record at the Hall County Sheriff’s Office was set during Tuesday’s election when Sheriff Gerald Couch was re-elected to a fourth consecutive four-year term.
Local law enforcement historian Chad White, a retired Gainesville police officer, says before the 1916 election, sheriffs in Georgia were elected to two-year terms. On January 1, 1917, William Crow Sr. took office as the first sheriff of Hall County elected to a four-year term and remains the longest-serving sheriff in the county’s history. He served from 1904 to 1912, and then from 1916 to 1924. After being re-elected in December 1928, he passed away suddenly on March 25, 1929, having served a total of 16 years and 3 months.
Two other sheriffs, Andrew Mundy and John Gaines, were elected for six and five consecutive two-year terms, respectively.
Sheriff Crow’s record will stand for over a century unless Couch runs and is re-elected to a fifth term.