Capt. Jason C. Smith, a non-partisan candidate for sheriff of Orange County will be the guest speaker at the Oct. 11 meeting of the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club.
The meeting will take place on the lower level of the LOW Clubhouse.The program will begin at 1:30 p.m. after a meet-and-greet session starting at 1 p.m.
Smith is a life-long resident of Orange County, who grew up on his family’s farm in the Lahore area. He attended Orange County Public Schools and graduated with honors from Orange County High School in 2000. He graduated from Old Dominion University summa cum laude with a degree in criminal justice and a minor in sociology in 2003.
Upon graduation from college he was hired by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. After receiving the top overall award in his basic training class, Smith spent the next 20 years being promoted from patrol deputy to patrol sergeant to investigations to captain of operations. As captain he is also in charge of patrol, school resource officers and Animal Control.
During his tenure at the Sheriff’s Office, Smith has coordinated Orange County’s Citizens’ Police Academies and Youth Academies as well as raised money and wrote grant proposals for program funning. He created the office’s first agency-approved Department of Criminal Justice Service training courses. He instructed deputies county employees an school staff in active shooter response and lockdown procedures. In addition, he assisted in the implementation of a new records management system and new radio system for the Sheriff’s Office.
Smith and his wife, Kristen have two children and live in a home built in the 1850s by his great-great-grandfather.
Smith faces off against two opponents, Aaron Adams and Stephen LaLuna, both of whom describe themselves as “constitutional conservatives” with emphasis on prioritizing gun rights.
Adams originally hails from Waynesboro, moved to Orange County in 2018 and currently works in the courts division of the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. According to his campaign website, LaLuna was born and raised in Barboursville and has worked in several local law enforcement divisions, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orange Police Department and the Gordonsville Police Department.
The meeting is open to the public without regard to political affiliation.