Chester Sheriff Underwood officially announces re-election bid

Incumbent Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood formally announced his re-election bid Monday, saying that the people of Chester know he “has their back.”

Underwood is expected to face former Chester Police Department Chief and current Chester schools security boss Andre Williams in the race, and could face other challengers. In a December exclusive, The Herald reported in that Williams was planning to run and that Underwood planned to seek a second term.

A former State Law Enforcement Division agent with 30-plus years law enforcement experience, Underwood was elected in 2012 as a petition candidate Chester County’s first-ever black sheriff. He has since become a statewide and even national figure, taking on gang violence after the killing of a Chester City Council member and bringing a Pennsylvania boy to Chester for a hunting trip that garnered attention across America.

Underwood said that under his leadership the community has increased its pride at an increasingly professional and responsive department, Underwood said.

“This job is not for the inexperienced and weak at heart,” Underwood said in a statement officially announcing his candidacy Monday. “To be effective, you have to commit your time, sweat, and tears, and this is something my staff and I do every day. For us, there is no greater calling.”

Underwood publicly battled with Chester politicians for more officers and equipment to fight violence and publicly declared war on gangs after the shooting death of Chester City Councilman Odell Williams in November 2014. He also won a court battle with county officials over control of the 911 system.

Filing for offices runs from March 16 to March 30. If both Underwood and Williams run as Democrats, a primary election between the two - and potentially any other Democratic candidates - would be in June. The general election is in November.

Williams, in charge of security for Chester schools, has said that he can be a unifying candidate. Underwood has also had controversies, in a lawsuit filed by two Chester volunteer firefighters after their arrest in 2014 at a crash site and another filed by a former deputy who claimed harassment.

Underwood denied wrongdoing in all the lawsuits.

Democrat Richard Smith, who was defeated by Underwood in 2012, has not said whether he will seek the seat again.

This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Chester Sheriff Underwood officially announces re-election bid."