Cameron Parish sheriff prepares for new chapter

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - Cameron Parish Sheriff Ron Johnson is moving on after serving 11 years in office as sheriff.

With elections just around the corner, he’s ready to pass on the baton and tells us what’s next for him.

Ron Johnson’s career started 34 years ago with the sheriff’s department.

“I have had the golden opportunity to serve the people I love for 34 years now, going on 35,” said Johnson.

“I appreciate that a lot. I’ve been sheriff for three term years.”

He said when you work with people for that long, it can be hard to leave - a bittersweet reminder he faces on the daily when he gets questions like this from his constituents.

“They said, are you going to keep your same phone number when you retire. I said, I don’t know, and he said, well, look, if you change it, I would like to have it because I want to keep on talking to you. And that is what makes a good sheriff in a small community or a large community, and I’m going to miss that a lot,” Johnson said.

So what’s next? Besides taking his wife to the beach, Sheriff Johnson said he has a few ideas in mind.

“Well, we don’t know that, I do some substitute preaching for churches if the preacher is out that day, and I plan to do a little bit of traveling. And I like to play golf and I’ll probably do some volunteer work, not seeking another job but probably do some type of volunteer work, community service helping somebody.”

And as for the candidate who takes on the role as the next Cameron Parish sheriff, he leaves this piece of advice:

“You’re not handed that position for power, and authority, you’re handed that position for service to the public that why they put you in there to do a job.”

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