By Randy Ludlow
The Columbus Dispatch
PICKAWAY COUNTY, Ohio — Pickaway County Sheriff Dwight Radcliff was prepared to push his tenure as the nation’s longest-serving sheriff past the half-century mark.
Radcliff, who first was elected sheriff in 1964, had readied his paperwork to run in the March 6 primary. But he changed his mind in recent days after attending the funeral of a retired Circleville police officer.
“It just hit me, some way, that the good Lord took me to that funeral,” Radcliff said yesterday. “I had to give it a lot of thought. But, I came home and told (wife) Betty, ‘We’ll enjoy life while we can.’ ”
Radcliff, a 79-year-old Democrat, has been elected to 12 straight four-year terms. His late father, Charles H. Radcliff, was sheriff before him, serving from 1931 to 1960.
The old-school, no-nonsense lawman, who burnished the county’s reputation as “Put-away Pickaway,” will continue as sheriff through the end of next year. But he hopes to keep the badge in the family.
Radcliff’s son, Robert, 49, a lieutenant who has worked alongside his father for 31 years, is the lone candidate seeking the Democratic nomination for sheriff.
A Republican did not file to run for sheriff, but an independent candidate could file to run against the younger Radcliff in the November 2012 election. Robert Radcliff was 2 years old when his father took office.
If his son wins election, Radcliff said he will not be puttering around the sheriff’s office. “I’ll tell him what my dad told me: ‘Be your own man.’ If he wants to call for advice, fine, but I won’t be hanging around.”
Radcliff said his health is fine and he wants to enjoy some leisure time with his wife of 58 years.
“I hate to step away from it now, but I just think it’s time,” Radcliff said. “I’ve always loved my job and I still do.”
Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said Radcliff tapped his decades of experience to provide him “great counsel” as a newly elected sheriff in 2001.
“He’s an icon. When you think he was sheriff when I was in high school -- and I’m 63 -- that speaks volumes to the service he has provided to the residents of Pickaway County,” Phalen said.
Copyright 2011 The Columbus Dispatch