Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat’s current term ends on New Year’s Eve. Long before the peach drops (not actually, since there isn’t an actual Peach Drop in Atlanta any longer) on a new year, there will be an even more important decision day to observe: election day. The general election for a number of high-ranking positions within Fulton County, the state’s largest and most populated county, will take place on Tuesday, May 21. That includes sheriff, a position Labat ran for and won in 2020. 

This time around will be different from the 2020 election when Labat received all of the 427,266 votes. This time there are four other experienced law enforcement officers running against him. 

Walking into The Atlanta Voice office on Tuesday morning, Mar. 12, Labat gives off the impression that he’s not worried about having to campaign for office again. Wearing his uniform and flanked by members of his staff and security team, he took a seat at a conference table and answered questions about why he believes he is not only doing a good job but should be re-elected as sheriff.

 “We came into office after defeating a three-term incumbent with a spirit of change,” said Labat. “We came in at the height of COVID, 3,700 individuals, 600 of them were sleeping on the floor. So our first goal was to treat people humanely.” 

The inmates are no longer sleeping on the floors of the jail due to overcrowding, according to Labat. Having spent ten years of his 35-year law enforcement career as chief of the Atlanta Department of Corrections, Labat understands that in order to effect even more change, including the culture at the jail, there are going to be…