Montgomery County’s next sheriff will be the man selected to lead the office earlier this year or a police veteran who comes from a law enforcement family.
The race between Republican Robert Page, the interim sheriff, and Democrat Tim Brown, a Christiansburg police lieutenant, was set earlier this summer after they secured their competitive party nominations. Voters will now decide which one will run the largest law enforcement agency in the New River Valley. The department has 141 sworn deputies and six civilian staff across five divisions, according to Capt. Mark Hollandsworth of the support services division.
Page was named sheriff in the spring, the choice of Sheriff Hank Partin, a Republican, who retired after 10 years in the job. The county has had a Republican sheriff since Partin began his first term in 2016. Before him, Democrat Tommy Whitt served for 12 years before retiring in 2015…