ROCK ISLAND- The chairman of the local Democratic party is urging people not to vote for ex-sheriff Jeff Boyd in the upcoming primary, but Boyd says the chairman should butt out.
"I don't need an endorsement. I don't want an endorsement from anyone but the people," said Boyd in an interview with WQAD-TV this week.
"I think he weighs in on things he shouldn't weigh in on. He seems like he's intoxicated with himself. Doug House seems to have a pattern of getting outside of his lane and getting involved in things he shouldn't get involved in", Boyd said while knocking on doors of potential Democratic voters.
But, Chairman Doug House says the public needs to be reminded about Boyd's record and resignation.
He wrote a letter to the editor this week, stating Boyd "betrayed the trust of our community", and "continues to victimize our community", and urged Democrats in the primary not to vote for the ex-sheriff.
"The embarrassment that Jeff Boyd brought to himself, his office, our county's sheriff's department, and our community is reprehensible", House wrote.
In 2014, then-sheriff Boyd resigned amid an investigation by the Illinois Attorney General's Office into the stalking and harassment of a woman he had met at a local gym.
Boyd entered into a plea deal, and plead guilty to attempted misconduct involving cyber stalking, a misdemeanor.
"He clearly believes there's some form or another of a grand conspiracy that has taken place. I just choose to accept the authority of the state's highest legal office, the Illinois Attorney General, that researched this with the state police and found he had abused his power in office and that he had stalked a woman," said House, in an interview with WQAD-TV.
"We do not recognize him as a Democrat, he does not share or represent our values," House said.
The plea deal did not prohibit Boyd from seeking public office again, but his bid for his old job threw party leaders for a loop. Boyd says he has supporters, they have signs in their yards, and he is in it, to win it.
"Political comebacks are not that uncommon," Boyd said. "I was always coming back," he said.
Boyd said he made"mistakes", but didn't want to talk about the selfies, or texts, or circumstances that lead to his resignation.
"If you want to know what my relationship is, look at my depositions," he said.
House said after the letter to the editor ran, he too, received a text from Boyd.
"It says 'What are you going to do when I win? You're such a little man. Maybe say that stuff to my face',"House said, showing us the text.
"People have short memories, that's why it was important to write the letter."