ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – There are now two people running for the position of St. Joseph County Sheriff.
The two candidates made the announcement on Monday, April 24, the same day as Sheriff Mark Lillywhite was sentenced in Kalamazoo County 8th District Court to a year of probation following a crash on Sunday, February 26 on US-131 south of Schoolcraft.
According to authorities, Lillywhite rear-ended another car around 2:20 a.m., shoving both vehicles off the road and causing the other car to roll. He was charged with operating while intoxicated and carrying a concealed weapon while under the influence of alcohol.
Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting authorized criminal charges against Lillywhite on Thursday, April 6.
The two candidates for St. Joseph Count Sheriff are Chad Spence, public safety instructor with the St. Joseph County CTE consortium, and Joe Bingaman, a former county employee.
Bingaman, who has worked at the sheriff’s office for nearly 14 years, said in a statement on Monday,”I am running for sheriff of St Joseph county. I started this process last May and formally filed my paperwork in January of this year. (Prior to Lillywhite’s accident ) Me and my team were the first to challenge Lillywhite. We realized long ago that there needed to be change within our Department. We think there needs to be more ACCOUNTABILITY, INTEGRITY, AND TRANSPARENCY!”
In his statement on Monday, Spence said,”I have been preparing for this all my life. It all started back in the 1980’s when my father volunteered as a reserve deputy for the sheriff’s office. I remember as a young boy going to the meetings and looking up to all of those guys in uniform. From then, I knew that’s what I wanted to do when I grew up.”
Both candidates plan to run for the seat in November 2024.
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