TYLER (KYTX) - Larry Smith made a speech accepting the Smith County Sheriff's office at about 9:30 Tuesday night after receiving a call from elections administrators saying he'd won the election.
The acceptance capped off a year and a half of campaigning that ended in an incredibly tight, and hard fought race following voters' failure to pick a new sheriff during May's primary election.
Smith said it was time to move forward, even though he doesn't take office until January.
"Sheriff [J.B.] Smith has graciously told me that I am free and welcome to come down for him to show me how his administration works and that way I can make the plans I need to make for January of 2013 to have the most seamless transition that I can," Smith said.
He also stressed the need for mending fences with people in the Chris Green camp.
"It's been a hard-fought race. [Chris and I] talked about the fact that there's been some back and forth," Smith said. "We need to hurry up and try to mend all the fences we can and go forward and not backwards."
Green put in an extra two months worth of campaigning against Smith for the Smith County Sheriff's seat, but was defeated by Smith in the end.
Still he filled Rick's on the Square with supporters as they waited on the final tally from the elections committee.
Green says he's proud of the work he and all the volunteers put in throughout the runoff.
"It's just been overwhelming. Supporters, financially, the time they're giving. I feel disappointed that I let them down and we didn't have enough people come out and support us, but hey, I love these folks, I love this county. That's why I ran," says Green.
He says his immediate plan for the future is to take his wife on a vacation.
And he says he will continue to be involved in the community.
