Gov.-elect Bill Lee has named Williamson County Sheriff Jeff Long as commissioner of the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security. The Tennessee Journal’s On the Hill reported the appointment Monday. The department oversees the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Office of Homeland Security and drivers’ license centers, among other functions. Long, the Tennessee Sheriff Association’s sheriff of the year of 2013, will take over the post from David Purkey, who was named safety commissioner in 2016. Purkey, a former state trooper and mayor of Hamblen County, had served as assistant commissioner since 2011. Long succeeded former Williamson County Sheriff Ricky Headley, who resigned in 2008 as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors in Davidson and Williamson counties over fraudulently obtaining prescription pain pills, the Journal reported. Long previously said he first met and was impressed by Lt. Gov./Senate Speaker Rand McNally (R-TN-05) during Operation Rocky Top, a law enforcement sting of political corruption in the late 1980s when McNally helped prosecutors. Long is a graduate of the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science, according to his biography on the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office website. He received a Doctorate of Jurisprudence Degree from Nashville School of…
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