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A Knox County deputy has filed a formal challenge to the qualifications of an independent candidate running for sheriff.
The challenge was filed with the state on June 1 by Deputy Daniel Landers on the qualifications of Albert “A.J.” Joy of Hope.
Joy is unenrolled and gathered sufficient signatures to get on the November ballot. Joy would oppose the winner of the June 9 Democratic primary between incumbent Sheriff Patrick Polky and challenger John Hansen, both of St. George.
The Maine secretary of state plans to hold a hearing June 11 on the challenge.
Any registered voter of the county can challenge a candidate’s qualifications.
In a June 1 letter to the Maine secretary of state’s office, attorney Christopher MacLean of Camden, who represents Landers, listed the reasons for the challenge.
The letter cites a May 7 letter from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy that Joy has not completed the Basic Law Enforcement Training Program or received a waiver of that requirement.
The challenge also questions whether Joy meets the required two-year minimum for supervisory experience in law enforcement or corrections. MacLean’s letter contends that work as an investigator for the Chattanooga Housing Authority in Tennessee does not qualify as supervisory experience.
Joy is owner of Dirigo Driving Academy, which he and his wife started in 2019. He responded Monday night to the challenge.
“This challenge is exactly what is wrong with politics today,” Joy said. “Instead of debating ideas, policies, public safety, fiscal responsibility, or the future of Knox County, some people are trying to use technicalities and political tactics to prevent voters from having a choice.”
He said the state reviewed his qualifications before he filed his paperwork and his petitions were accepted by the secretary of state’s office.
“I have nearly a decade of sworn law enforcement experience, supervisory experience, investigative experience, and years of public service. I have also spent the last several years building and operating a successful business here in Maine while serving my community through driver education and highway safety.
“I believe the voters of Knox County deserve the opportunity to decide this election at the ballot box — not through political gamesmanship,” Joy said.
Landers has been employed by the sheriff’s office since 2017. Before that he worked for 19 years as a firefighter with the city of Bangor.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.