In campaign for 5th term, Greene County sheriff faces first opposition since 2008

For the past three elections, Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott has been the sole Republican candidate on the ballot for that office. But this year he'll face a challenger — Ben McMains, who was at the center of a Fair Grove school resource officer dispute earlier in the year.

McMains has 18 years of experience in law enforcement and has held multiple positions in the Ozarks throughout the years. He's worked as a deputy in Laclede County, chief of police in Conway, bailiff for Greene County courts and a police officer and eventually the SRO in Fair Grove.

In late January, McMains was decommissioned as the Fair Grove SRO as a result of an investigation into a confrontation he had with a city employee. He told the News-Leader earlier this year the situation was not aggressive in any way. The investigation was completed by Greene County Sheriff's Professional Standards Division. At the time, Arnott was the acting chief of the Fair Grove Police Department following several resignations in December. A new permanent chief was hired last month.

During an appeal hearing, which eventually upheld McMains' removal, a large portion of the Fair Grove and school community showed up to support the former SRO. The public outcry has been a catalyst for other changes in the city's leadership, including a write-in alderman candidate receiving eight more votes than a longtime alderman, according to unofficial April 2 election results.

Ben McMains' motivation to run for Greene County sheriff

McMains said Arnott's role in his removal in Fair Grove was a large factor for why he decided to run. He said the county needs a change.

"I think I can bring a fresh look to Greene County," McMains said. "He's (Arnott) done a lot of good stuff for Greene County, but I think it's time for a change and I think Greene County residents see that as well."

Arnott said a police chief's role in hiring and firing is different from the sheriff's. Where a sheriff can make his own decisions, the final decisions about hiring or firing an individual for the Fair Grove department fell to the Fair Grove Board of Aldermen.

McMains sees his breadth of experience as a strength, being able to experience and see policing from various perspectives. He also is proud of the impact he made during his time as SRO in Fair Grove, which was evident from the students attending the appeal hearing who said he often was like a father figure to them. For his campaign for sheriff, McMains is still focusing on the youth, aiming to prevent exposure to drugs and fentanyl. If elected, he said he hopes to make the department more visible in the community and build relationships with students across the county.

"I know the youth are associated with schools and schools are in the city, but the cities are in our county," he said. "If we can start small, that will benefit us in the long run. Hopefully, it will bring down crime rates, because these kids will grow up knowing that they can trust law enforcement officers."

He said as sheriff he would also like to bring more community-oriented policing and a bigger focus to driving while intoxicated enforcement and working with other local police departments to have a cohesive response. According to the Greene County Sheriff's website, three deputies are dedicated to the DWI and Traffic Safety Unit, with two of them particularly focused on DWIs. Arnott said the office has applied for a grant through the Missouri Department of Transportation to add three more deputies to this unit.

Ahead of the Aug. 6 primary election, McMains said he plans to reach out to community members, both by being at events and by going door-to-door, to hear about their views and concerns and to make himself known to the voters. He said he has also reached out to Missouri State University's Political Science Department to see if any students were interested in working on his campaign.

He acknowledges the road ahead will not be easy as he runs for political office for the first time. There are concerns about going up against someone who has been in the role a long time, dealing with negative statements from others and balancing family life with the campaign.

"I don't know how to run a campaign because I'm not a politician," McMains said. "I'm somebody that gets out there and leads by example and just wants to do the job that way."

Jim Arnott runs for his fifth term as sheriff

Arnott was first elected in 2008. Now serving his fourth four-year term, he has run unopposed for sheriff in the past three elections. He hasn't had to campaign since 2008, so this year will be different, though he still has a job to do in the meantime. No Democratic candidate has filed for the sheriff race, meaning the two will battle it out in the primary.

Unlike McMains, Arnott began his career at the Greene County Sheriff's Office and has stayed there his entire time in law enforcement, spending 19 years as a full-time employee working his way up the ladder before running for office.

Throughout his time as sheriff, the staff has almost tripled, from 220 employees to 624, becoming one of the largest in the state, Arnott said. Recently under Arnott's leadership, the new jail facility, with a $150 million budget, was opened in northwest Springfield.

Salary improvements and recruitment efforts have been and will remain a focus for Arnott while on the job. While he said recruitment and hiring have been at an all-time high and retention rates are improving, the department is still roughly 50 people short. Arnott said they have launched a new program to hire candidates without a high school diploma or a GED, and put them through a GED class.

"We're pretty excited about it because we know we've turned down a population that doesn't meet the minimum requirements," he said noting there are people who may have had to enter the workforce young and weren't able to finish high school but still have a strong work ethic and can be trained.

If elected for another term, Arnott said he also would like to increase proactive law enforcement with a bigger push on violent crime and property crime issues.

Jim Arnott is facing criticism, addressing issues

Arnott's tenure has not been without its criticisms. Early last year, homeless advocates and others admonished the sheriff for his response to reports of encampments on private property that resulted in 11 people arrested. He said he still stands by the decisions made and would continue to respond in the same way, whether the trespassing occurs just outside city limits or elsewhere in the county.

"You're always going to get criticized for the things that you do, especially in my line of work," Arnott said.

The jail has also seen a steady uptick in inmate deaths in recent months, with four reported since November 2023. Arnott said this is a concern and mainly due to the fentanyl crisis and drugs both that are taken by inmates prior to being detained and those smuggled into the jail. In order to get ahead of this, he said the new jail includes body scanners, has a K9 on duty 24/7 and delivers only digitalized forms of mail to inmates.

"We're very concerned about deaths in the jail and that's on the top of our concerns every day, and we're always trying to figure out how we can do something different to prevent drugs from coming in," he said.

The jail has also seen the first successful suicide in years, Arnott said, though noting that staff interventions prevent numerous suicide attempts.

More: Fair Grove community backs former SRO during appeal hearing, but aldermen don't budge

Regardless of the results of the election, Arnott said he is unsure if he would run again in 2028. This next term would take him into retirement age, but he feels he still has a lot to offer. He said the driving force for his entire tenure as sheriff remains front of mind — bringing justice to victims of crime and keeping the county safe.

"I guess I'm just gonna live four years at a time," he said. "As long as I'm happy and the people want me, I'll be here."

Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Greene County sheriff faces first election opposition since 2008