Spotsylvania Supervisors Face a Decision on the Sheriff's Office as Harris Moves Retirement Up to January

Spotsylvania County's Board of Supervisors has a decision ahead on who will lead the Sheriff's Office for most of 2027, now that Sheriff Roger Harris plans to leave nearly a full year before his term runs out.

Harris told sheriff's office employees in an Oct. 16 email that his retirement will take effect Jan. 4, 2027, the Fredericksburg Free Press reported on Oct. 27. His current term ends Dec. 31, 2027.

The new date speeds up a plan Harris made public last December, when he said he would not continue past the end of his term, according to earlier Free Press coverage. At the time, the sheriff said he had spent 56 years in law enforcement, 13 of them as Spotsylvania's sheriff, Potomac Local News reported.

Two options under state law

Vacancies in Virginia's elected constitutional offices, including sheriff, are governed by Va. Code § 24.2-228.1. As a general rule, the law calls for a special election, and the local governing body must ask the circuit court to order one within 15 days after the vacancy occurs. The board can ask that the special election coincide with the November general election.

A separate provision applies when a seat opens up during the last 12 months of a term, which would be the case with a Jan. 4 departure. In that situation, the governing body may ask the circuit court not to order a special election, and the statute says the court "shall grant" the request. The highest-ranking deputy who is qualified to hold the office then exercises the sheriff's full powers through the end of the term.

The same section lets a governing body petition the court as soon as it receives an officer's written resignation with a set date. It also provides that, until voters fill a vacancy, the top-ranking qualified deputy carries out the office's duties.

The Virginia Department of Elections notes that special elections must fall on a Tuesday and cannot be held within 55 days of a general or primary election.

Harris backs his second-in-command

According to the Free Press, Harris prefers that the board seek the court route. That would leave the office with Lt. Col. Delbert Myrick, the agency's highest-ranking officer, for the rest of the term. In his email to staff, Harris said Myrick's leadership would "provide continuity" for the agency.

Myrick, 45, has 24 years in law enforcement, the Free Press reported. He first worked in law enforcement in Arlington, and Spotsylvania's sheriff's office hired him in 2005, starting him out as a deputy. Harris endorsed Myrick for the next sheriff's race back when he first announced his retirement, Potomac Local reported.

Harris has also told County Administrator Ed Petrovich in person about the earlier retirement date, according to the Free Press. The sheriff's departure was not on the agenda for the supervisors' Oct. 27 meeting. Myrick told the paper he did not know which option board members favor.

The 2027 race

Whatever the board decides, Spotsylvania voters will pick a sheriff for a new four-year term in November 2027. The Free Press reported that four people have declared their candidacies: Brian Bettis, Bill Gill, Steve Maxwell and Troy Skebo, a former major in the sheriff's office. If Myrick is serving as sheriff by then, he would be on the ballot as the sitting sheriff.

Speaking with the Free Press, Myrick said holding the job before the election offers experience no other candidate could claim, but added that it "could be a curse, too," depending on how he performs.

Similar handoffs have played out, or are planned, in neighboring counties. The Free Press noted that in King George County, Sheriff Chris Giles intends to step down when 2026 ends and will ask the circuit court to let Maj. Patrick Weston take over. In Caroline County, former Sheriff Tony Lippa took a similar approach with Scott Moser, who served out the remainder of the term and faced no opponent in the 2023 election.