Bushong Officially Announces His Run For Lee County Sheriff

With his wife and daughter in attendance as well as a couple of dozen supports, Bushong stated, “I pledge that my partnership with you will be grounded firmly in trust, honesty, and dedication to the greater good and a passionate commitment to the fiscally responsible practice of the rule of law.”

Among the topics Bushong touched on during his speech was the goal of reducing the sheriff’s office budget, while putting more boots on the street. When asked how he could do this Bushong stated, “Funds are there to increase patrol deputies and reduce the level of the budget. To make it work misplaced funds need to be re-appropriated.”

Another strong statement Bushong made was on what he feels should be the equal treatment of all, “I vow to preserve and protect the rights of all persons, regardless of who they are. Everyone is a human being and should be treated as such,” said Bushong.

Bushong’s road to this point has been a long and interesting one. Born and raised in Ohio, Bushong joined the Marines at 17 years old and served two tours. Upon his separation from the Marines, Bushong joined the Lee County Sheriff’s Department. Bushong spent 3 ½ years working the Cape/North Fort Myers district. In 2001 Bushong was promoted to detective and transferred to the Bonita district and worked a county-wide task force before moving to the homicide department in west Lee County. Bushong then was promoted to sergeant and served as a patrol supervisor. Soon after this move Bushong was again promoted to Detective Sergeant and later Lieutenant in charge of intelligence.

Bushong’s meteoric career rise took a major turn, when in 2009 Bushong was demoted and fired for mocking a subordinate in an e-mail and then threatening the deputy during a phone call. He was rehired two months later and demoted to a patrol sergeant. During this time Bushong and two other deputies filed a complaint against Scott with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Scott was cleared of any wrongdoing in November of 2009. Stating that it was an awkward situation, Bushong officially resigned from the department in December of that year.

Since leaving the department Bushong has kept busy working as a graduate student at Florida Gulf Coast University majoring in Forensic Anthropology. A year ago he opened up his own private investigation firm, Bushong and Associates, focusing on cold cases and homicides.
It has never been a secret that Bushong has contemplated running for the office of Sheriff. Bushong says it is something he feels he can excel in and provide a new approach, “I feel that I can provide a lot better level of service from the Sheriff’s Department to the residents of Lee County. My goal is to uphold the letter of the law as it is said to be done.”

Bushong now says the real work starts as he begins to go from one end of the county to the other meeting residents and getting their input about what needs to be changed and improved on.

For more information on the Lee Bushong campaign you can visit www.lee2012.com.