Two candidates have submitted their qualification papers for the race for Lee County Sheriff.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones announced his candidacy for reelection on October 29, 2025. Jones filed for qualification papers during the first week of January 2026.
Sheriff Jones has been the sheriff of the county since 1998, and is currently serving his seventh term. Sheriff Jones first began his law-enforcement career with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office in 1975 while a student at Auburn University. Since then he has served as a Corrections Officer/Communications Operator, a sworn Deputy Sheriff, among other positions.
“I have led the Sheriff’s Office during this period of growth and change by setting standards of professionalism in recruiting, hiring and training staff that are among the best in Alabama,” Sheriff Jones said in the October press release. “I have worked to make sure the Sheriff’s Office has stayed current with changes in technology and provided our deputies with the best equipment available. I have made education and training a priority. Our deputies consistently receive more training hours than the state requires.”
As sheriff, Jones has worked closely with city leaders in Auburn and Opelika to convert the Lee County jail into a countywide detention center. Under his leadership, the facility established partnerships with federal agencies including the U.S. Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Army to house federal detainees. The detention center is now one of only a few in Alabama with mental health professionals on staff, who assess detainees and coordinate treatment with outside providers when needed, according to the release.
School safety has also been a major focus of his tenure. During his first term, he created the county’s School Resource Officer program, which has since expanded to place SROs in every Lee County school. Those deputies, he says, rank among the best in the state…