Despite some losses and setbacks through the years, Cranford Jordon told the Rotary Club of Winnfield, “I’ve been blessed along the way” through the 50 years he’s been involved in various aspects of law enforcement. July 1 will see the end of his three-term tenure as sheriff that began in 2012.
His election win for sheriff in the fall of 2011 was his third try, he explained, first losing campaigns in 1979 and 2007. But that interim gave an opening for his involvement in the creation and startup of other community improvements including the 911 emergency phone system in 1989 and the rural Fire District #3 in 1995.
Things began in 1970 when Jordan was graduated from WSHS and would have been happy to go straight to work for his uncle, Sanford Jordan who served as Winn’s sheriff from 1956 to 1976. But he heard, “No, you’re going to get an education first,” when he asked for a job so he attended LA Tech where he got a BS degree in Business in 1974, having worked here parttime as a deputy and jailer. But his fulltime job disappeared when the new sheriff Dan Page took office in 1976.
He then spent three years with the sheriff’s office in Natchitoches. Blessing or opportunity, he told Rotarians. At the close of 1979, he got the civil service appointment as Winnfield’s chief of police. The city’s population was 7,500. The department had three vehicles (his own and two patrol cars). In 1994, the chief’s position was changed to elective and he lost that race.
He then served as chief of police at Sikes until 2012. Embattled sheriff Bodie Little did not run in the fall election 2011 and Jordan won that race in a field of 14 candidates. He was set to take office July 1, 2012, but when Little resigned after conviction and sentencing on felony charges, the Police Jury appointed Jordan to start his term early, March 7.
Jordan said he began those duties on a shoestring budget. The department had just $400,000 in the bank and nearly 10 months remaining to operate on a $2.2 million budget. The new sheriff cut costs where he could, including half his own salary and got permission from the state to borrow $350,000 from the Bank of Winnfield. There were 35 employees at the time.
Tax monies come in only at year’s end and “fortunately an oil company paid taxes it had previously withheld under protest. We paid off the loan. But times were tough those first two years. We bought nothing new. In fact, the sheriff of St. John the Baptist Parish sent us their used uniforms. You might remember those black uniforms.
“In 2014, the public recognized I’d cut and saved and saw fit to approve a half-cent sales tax and we began to turn things around at the Sheriff’s Office. We were able to add deputies, increase their pay, build our fleet and buy new equipment and bring back programs like DARE and the Seniors program.”
In 2015, CCA which handled the private management of Winn Correctional Center announced it was pulling out of Louisiana. Jordan was approached about his department taking over that responsibility. Jordan said he was disinclined but Winnfield mayor Kiah Beville encouraged him with the reminder that Winn Correctional was the city’s biggest water customer. It would mean continued employment at the facility plus additional income for the department. Winn Correctional became a federal detention center in 2019 and funding for the local department is about $1 million annually.
Jordan praised his wife, Dianne, who has supported him through the years, describing her as a “workmate,” supportive but not involved in the office. “I’ve been blessed with her. I had COVID and got through without longterm effects. I’ve been shot at, stabbed, punched a lot and hit by a drunken driver. And I’m still here.”
