The Gist
Sheriff, Forsyth County

Ernie Leyba

Candidate for Sheriff, Forsyth County

Republican

Background

Occupation
Business owner; former law enforcement officer
Campaign website
leybaforsheriff.com

A former officer with the Los Angeles and Newport Beach, Calif., police departments who later served as a Forsyth County deputy sheriff and owns his own company; he was the Republican nominee for Forsyth sheriff in 2022.

Report

Documented positions

Public safety

  • Proposes restoring the sheriff's narcotics and CSI divisions

    Priorities

    Campaign website · Leyba for Sheriff · leybaforsheriff.com

    “Bring back the Narcotics Division … Bringing back the CSI Division”
    Report

  • Supports closer cooperation with city police, ICE and federal agencies

    Meet Ernie

    Campaign website · Leyba for Sheriff · leybaforsheriff.com

    “Working on better RAPPORT with the City of Winston Salem Police Officers, ICE, and Federal Agencies”
    Report

  • Proposes cutting deputy and detention staff turnover

    Priorities

    Campaign website · Leyba for Sheriff · leybaforsheriff.com

    “We need to focus on reducing high turnover rates of detention staff and personnel and refocus on recruiting and training.”
    Report

Education

  • Pledges more school resource officers at every school

    Meet Ernie

    Campaign website · Leyba for Sheriff · leybaforsheriff.com

    “Upgrade the SRO (School Resource Officer) Programs within all schools and have more Officers for each school.”
    Report

Government & transparency

  • Pledges monthly town meetings with residents

    Leyba For Sheriff – 2026

    Campaign website · Leyba for Sheriff · leybaforsheriff.com

    “We will hold monthly town meetings, where citizens have a chance to speak freely about their concerns.”
    Report

All sources (5)

Positions are summarized from the sources listed and are not inferred from party affiliation. Items marked “Provided by” were published by the candidate's verified campaign or party office under our campaign content standards. See something wrong? Use the Report link beside it, or contact us.

Ernie Leyba for Sheriff, Forsyth County, North Carolina · The Gist