Sheriff Tony Waldrupe has announced his campaign for reelection in Lawrence County in 2025. Sheriff Waldrupe has over 30 years of service as a first responder, beginning in 1994 as a volunteer firefighter with Walnut Rudge Fire Department and becoming a full-time firefighter later that same year. Then in 2001, after graduating from Black River Technical College’s Law Enforcement Training Academy, Waldrupe took a position with Walnut Ridge Police Department as a patrolman, progressing to the rank of Sergeant, and then on to become Captain. Tony was appointed acting Sheriff in 2014 after the current Sheriff retired; the following year he remained with the Sheriff’s Department as Chief Deputy under elected Sheriff Jeff Yates.

Tony was officially elected and sworn in as Lawrence County Sheriff in 2022. Since then, he has worked to serve the county’s 17,000 residents by strengthening security at county schools, establishing the presence of 2 resource officers in each district. In addition, his office has been dedicated to providing for the highly successful Peer Recovery Program which assists county jail inmates in addressing and overcoming addiction issues.  Sheriff Waldrupe has worked to build trust within the community as a law enforcement officer, as well as in his duties as a Deacon at Gethsemane Baptist Church, where he has also worked as Head of Security.