Metro detective joins sheriff race

Keith Paul

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 8:52 a.m.

A veteran Metro Police officer announced Tuesday that he will run for sheriff.

Detective Gordon Martines is the third Metro officer to announce a campaign to replace Sheriff Jerry Keller, who decided not to seek a third term.

"Gordon has been thinking about doing this for the last decade," said Jerry Schafer, a longtime friend and Gordon's campaign manager. "He's a tremendous policeman."

Martines, a robbery detective, was out of town Tuesday for a family emergency and could not be reached for comment regarding his announcement.

So far, Deputy Chief Bill Young and Lt. Steve Franks have announced their intentions to run for sheriff in the November 2002 election. Keller surprised many last month when he said he would not seek re-election.

Schafer said Martines is not powered by a political machine, nor does he have a lot of money.

"It's going to be an uphill battle, but the hope is that once people talk with him and see what he is really about, they will see he's really the right guy to do this," Schafer said.

Martines has been with Metro since March 1978. He has been a patrol officer, a motorcycle officer, a SWAT member and has worked undercover.

Schafer said Martines wants to improve on several areas of policing, including investigating crimes against the elderly.