Title: Madison County Sheriff · Democrat (J.E. “Buddy” Harwood) In this role since: 2009 Current term ends: December 2026 Next voter decision: Nov 3, 2026 vs Republican Robin Lyles, a rematch of 2022 (Harwood 68.8% to 31.2%); each was the sole filer in his party’s primary (Madison County BOE candidate list · Ballotpedia) · Election 2026
Surveillance record
By March 2026 his office had 15 Flock cameras in use countywide, announced via the sheriff’s Facebook page, with no commission vote and no public discussion; published audit logs show 1,200+ nationwide-database searches in 60 days and 3,302 searches across 33 offense categories in five months, in a county of about 20,000 people. The office has refused the bulk of public records requests for the contract, expenditures, audits, and policies (Madison County · Madison for Privacy). No transparency portal exists; the office does appear on Henderson County’s list of agencies with access to Henderson’s reads.
The records refusals are themselves a record: state law makes the written ALPR policy and the annual audit report documents that must exist (What the Law Lets the County Do), and a sheriff who will not produce them is either out of compliance or hiding compliant documents.
ICE
No statements found. Madison has no 287(g) agreement (ICE list, Aug 21, 2026).
The question for him
Produce the contract, the policy, and the audit. He is the only WNC sheriff on a contested November ballot who has refused to.
Region: Madison County · Last updated: Aug 22, 2026