{"campaigns":[{"candidatename":"Steve Page","chatgptsummary":"Steve Page's biography shows fifteen years of law-enforcement service, including a criminal justice degree, deputy and detective roles, and two terms as White County Sheriff overseeing jail operations and budget management. In 2026, he faces a First Amendment retaliation lawsuit where a federal court denied his qualified immunity claim regarding the termination of a former captain. Bio does not indicate experience with municipal police coordination or state agency collaboration beyond local service.","notes":null,"party":"R","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nSteve Page is the Republican incumbent sheriff of White County, seeking re-election in the August 6, 2026 general election against independent challenger Daniel Trivette [3]. In candidate questionnaires he has pointed to deputy pay and retention \u2014 with surrounding agencies paying more \u2014 as a central challenge for the office [4].\n\n## Career\nPage earned a criminal justice degree and graduated from the Cleveland State Police Academy in 2010 [1]. He joined the White County Sheriff's Office in 2011 as a deputy under then-Sheriff Oddie Shoupe and was later promoted to detective [1]. In 2017 he joined the Baxter Police Department while campaigning for sheriff [1].\n\n## Office history\nPage was elected White County Sheriff in August 2018 and won a second term in 2022 [1]. In June 2026 the Tennessee Senate recognized him for fifteen years of law-enforcement service in a proclamation signed by Senate Speaker Randy McNally, Sen. Paul Bailey and Rep. Paul Sherrell and presented at the White County Justice Center [1]. His earlier honors include a Deputy of the Year award and an Excellence in Law Enforcement Award from the U.S. Attorney General's Office [1].\n\n## Documented disputes and controversies\nPage is a defendant in Ford v. Page, a First Amendment retaliation lawsuit brought by former captain John Ford [2]. Page had assigned Ford to investigate an April 2020 incident in which a deputy repeatedly deployed a K-9 on a woman during a felony warrant service; after Ford concluded the deputy may have committed a crime and contacted the district attorney's office without written authorization, Page terminated him for violating a chain-of-command policy [2]. On November 1, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee (Judge Waverly Crenshaw) denied the defendants summary judgment, finding \"admissible direct and circumstantial evidence\" that Ford was fired for protected speech and ruling that qualified immunity was not available to Page [2].\n\n## Family\nPage's son serves as a Tennessee State Trooper [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [Tennessee Senate Honors Sheriff Steve Page for 15 Years of Service - Main Street Journal](https://www.mainstreetjournal.llc/tennessee-senate-honors-sheriff-steve-page-15-years-service/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [Tenn. police whistleblower can proceed with First Amendment retaliation claim - Free Speech Center, MTSU](https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/post/tenn-police-whistleblower-can-proceed-with-first-amendment-retaliation-claim/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [White County Election Guide: Who's Running in August - Main Street Journal](https://www.mainstreetjournal.llc/white-county-august-election-candidates-guide/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[4] [White County Sheriff Q1 Candidate Responses - Main Street Journal](https://www.mainstreetjournal.llc/white-county-tn-sheriff-candidate-responses-question-1/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Steve","lastname":"Page","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"n7Dd9h3QPW"},"token":"steve_page"},{"candidatename":"Daniel Trivette","chatgptsummary":"Daniel Trivette's biography shows over fifteen years in law enforcement, including twelve years in supervisory roles as a patrol sergeant, shift commander, and lieutenant within White County and Cookeville agencies. His background includes jail operations, criminal investigations, budget oversight through departmental management, and coordination with state and federal bodies. Bio does not indicate experience developing an independent county-wide operating budget or direct oversight of the entire sheriff's office organizational structure.","notes":null,"party":"I","person":{"biography":"## Current office and 2026 campaign\nDaniel Trivette, 44, is an independent candidate for White County Sheriff in the August 6, 2026 general election, challenging Republican incumbent Steve Page [2][3]. In candidate questionnaires he has named employee retention, transparency, and proactive criminal enforcement as the biggest issues facing the sheriff's office, and has proposed a field-training program, a restructuring of the office, and a dedicated drug-enforcement program [2].\n\n## Background and education\nTrivette moved to White County in 1988 at age six when his father became pastor at Calvary Baptist Church [1]. He earned his high-school diploma from Family Christian Academy in 2000, took college credits from Nashville State and Walters State community colleges, and graduated from Bethel University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice [1].\n\n## Career\nBefore entering law enforcement, Trivette worked in his family's custodial-services business, at Institution Wholesale Company in Algood, in retail loss prevention at the Sparta Walmart, and as a HUD housing inspector [1]. He served with the White County Sheriff's Department from 2009 to 2014, starting as a corrections officer, becoming a road-patrol deputy in 2010 and a patrol sergeant in 2011; he became a certified Drug Recognition Expert and received Deputy of the Year honors from the Governor's Highway Safety Office in 2013 [1]. From 2014 to 2025 he served with the Cookeville Police Department, rising from patrol sergeant to supervisor in the criminal investigation division's property-crimes unit and finally to lieutenant and shift commander [1]. His leadership training includes the FBI-LEEDA Trilogy Award and the University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center's advanced leadership course; he reports over 15 years in law enforcement, 12 of them in supervisory roles [1]. He has served for several years as president of the Upper Cumberland chapter of the Police Benevolent Association [1].\n\n## Business interests and wealth source\nIn February 2025 Trivette retired from law enforcement to manage Rawly-Mae Farm full-time with his wife [1]. The couple founded the farm in 2021 and expanded into miniature cattle and other livestock in 2022, becoming registered livestock dealers with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and USDA [1].\n\n## Family\nTrivette is married to Jerrica \"Joni\" Simpson Trivette, a White County High School graduate with an education degree from Tennessee Technological University and a master's from Cumberland University, who taught special education in the White County school system for over a decade before joining the family farm business in 2023 [1]. The couple has two children, Elyza and Ralston [1]. He is a member of The Way church in Doyle and of the Sparta/White County Chamber of Commerce [1].\n\n## Sources\n[1] [About Daniel - Trivette for Sheriff (campaign site)](https://www.trivetteforsheriff.com/about) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[2] [White County Sheriff Candidate: Daniel Trivette - Main Street Journal](https://www.mainstreetjournal.llc/election-2026-daniel-trivette-white-county-sheriff/) - accessed 2026-07-23\n[3] [White County Election Guide: Who's Running in August - Main Street Journal](https://www.mainstreetjournal.llc/white-county-august-election-candidates-guide/) - accessed 2026-07-23","firstname":"Daniel","lastname":"Trivette","middlename":null,"suffix":null,"token":"4b8RahuoCS"},"token":"daniel_trivette"}],"choices":null,"description":null,"district":null,"districtgroup":null,"districtgroupname":null,"districtname":null,"job_type":"sheriff","o.office":null,"office":"sheriff","officedescription":"The sheriff is the county's chief law-enforcement officer. The office operates the county jail, provides court security, serves civil process and executes warrants, and provides patrol and investigation \u2014 a large operational command with a substantial budget.","officequalities":"- Organizational leadership of a sheriff's office spanning patrol, investigations, court services, and the county jail.\n- Oversight of the county jail, including intake, inmate health, and release procedures.\n- Working knowledge of Tennessee criminal law, court process, and constitutional search-and-seizure standards.\n- Ability to develop and oversee the office's operating budget with public accountability.\n- Coordination with municipal police departments and neighboring-county and state agencies.\n- A documented law-enforcement or public-safety background.","officeterm":4,"officetitle":"Sheriff","partisan":1,"pgr":"general","quantity":1,"referendum":null,"source":{"retrieved_at":"2026-07-20","title":"white County, TN \u2014 August 6, 2026 Sample Ballot","url":"https://www.whitecountytnvotes.gov/_files/ugd/fb005c_1f7dd14e02f64a8284da79e9b9c03625.pdf"},"title":"Sheriff"}