The November 7th general election is quickly approaching, and voters in Eau Claire County will have to pick between two candidates in the race for sheriff.

The role of sheriff is a non-partisan position. However, current Sheriff Ron Cramer is running as a republican, while candidate James Dillon is running as a democrat.

Right now, the two candidates are letting people know why they want to be Sheriff.

"I want to improve the image of Eau Claire County and the professionalism of the law enforcement within the Eau Claire County Sheriff's Department,” Dillon said.

"I've got a record of 10 years of doing things for this community, and if you like me, vote for me, if you don't like what I've done, vote for the other guy,” Cramer said.

Ron Cramer has been sheriff for the past ten years, and says he’s got the experience it takes to hold the office for another four.

"People that know me and my family know that, morally, ethically there's not been an issue with me as the Sheriff, Cramer said. “And I've represented the community well."

While James Dillon, who’s been a deputy with the sheriff’s department for over 17 years, says it’s time for a change.

"I'm not running for Sheriff for myself, I'm running for all of us,” Dillon said. "”I” is what a lot that people hear in a political campaign, but my "I" means we."

When it comes to the issues they care about, both Cramer and Dillon mention the proposed courthouse expansion. Cramer says it would be one way to manage the over-population at the Eau Claire County jail.

"We have to provide a better, secure courthouse than we currently have. We have to find adequate housing for the inmates that we have,” Cramer said.

Dillon says he’s against the proposed expansion.

"I feel that it will just destroy historical homes and neighborhoods for a facility that we don't need right now,” Dillon said.

But, both Cramer and Dillon say they have other ideas that could help loosen the load at the overcrowded jail.

"I'm also looking at alternatives with a committee, alternatives to incarceration,” Cramer said. “What's reasonable, given the status of our jail at this point? Who really needs to be locked up and what people could we trust on say, electronic monitoring, or how can we reduce our jail population?"

"I want to come up with alternative programming such as alternative monitoring so that we can ease the population of our jail,” Dillon said.

In other areas, Cramer says the sheriff’s race comes down to experience vs. no experience. But Dillon says that’s only because Cramer was voted in.

"Ten years from now I'll be saying the same thing,” Dillon said.

But when it comes to their personal lives, both Cramer and Dillon say being the sheriff is in their blood.

"I've been born and raised in Eau Claire, schooled in Eau Claire, really a product of Eau Claire, Eau Claire County,” Cramer said.

"It's something that I've always wanted to do and you know, I'm just having a great time doing it,” Dillon said.