Blanks: "I'll run again"
I ran into Berkley Blanks yesterday afternoon outside the Old County Courthouse. I hadn't spoken with him since he lost his election rematch with Sheriff BJ Barnes.
Blanks said he wasn't disheartented at all by the result, noting that more than 40,000 people voted for him. (He mentions this on his old campaign Web site.) Thing is, Barnes got nearly 62,000 votes and thumped him for the second election in a row.
When asked if he'd try again in 2010, Blanks said, "Hell, yeah, I'll run again."
He later added: "I started running again the next day."
Blanks has a bit of history on his side. Barnes lost to longtime sheriff Walter "Sticky" Burch twice before finally beating him in 1994. He's been sheriff ever since.
"Third time might be the charm," Blanks told me. "It was for him."