photo by: Contributed photo

Dale Flory

A 23-year veteran of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office has joined the race to become the law enforcement agency’s next leader.

Dale Flory, who is currently a member of the Douglas County Underwater Search and Recovery Team, announced his candidacy for the sheriff position in a Thursday news release. He has filed to run as a Democrat, according to the county elections office.

Flory is a lifelong resident of Douglas County, growing up on a farm south of Lawrence. He and his family now live in southern Douglas County.

Flory graduated from Lawrence High School in 1993 and entered the law enforcement workforce in 1996, first serving as a corrections officer with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. He later graduated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in 1998 to become a full-time law enforcement officer.

Flory said he wanted to serve on the “front line” of law enforcement until he felt the time was right to become the leader of the sheriff’s office. His priorities as sheriff would be mental health, social justice, transparency and jail restructuring, according to the news release.

Current Sheriff Ken McGovern, 60, announced in June that he would retire after his current term expires. He was first elected to the position as a Republican in 2004, the Journal-World has reported.

Flory is the third sheriff’s office employee to throw his hat into the ring. Undersheriff Gary Bunting, of Lawrence, and Lt. Jay Armbrister, of Baldwin City, previously filed to run as Democrats.

The candidate filing and withdrawal deadline for the 2020 election is June 1, according to information on the county clerk’s website, douglascountyelections.com. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 4.