Current Occupation
Sheriff
I'm proud to serve as the first African-American Sheriff of Buncombe County and am seeking a third term in office in order to continue implementing 21st Century policing principles.
Quentin Miller was born and raised in Asheville. He graduated from Asheville High School in 1981 and joined the U.S. Army where he served as a Military Policeman for 11 years. While stationed at Fort Bragg in 1985, Quentin met Army Specialist Karen Sconiers who he has been married to for 40 years. They now enjoy spending time with their 11 grandchildren. Quentin and Karen also hav
Quentin holds an Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate from the North Carolina Department of Justice and graduated from the Administrative Officers Management Program at N.C. State.
Gun violence. We must prioritize high-level drug trafficking operations and the associated gun violence, under my watch the Sheriff's Office has done that. For violent offenders who are selling fentanyl and meth we will work to arrest and send them to prison. Violence prevention efforts are key as well.
I will tell you that Fentanyl and the opioids epidemic is also a major challenge. We are seeing way too many individuals die from overdoses each year in Buncombe County. Most of these deaths are from fentanyl which can be 50 times as strong as heroin. I am proud of our MAT drug treatment program in the jail that began under my watch to help combat this crisis.
Since taking office, Sheriff Quentin Miller has worked to implement 21st Century Policing by:
- Created DWI Task Force at the Sheriff’s Office
- Prioritized Rape Kit Testing
- Implemented a Duty to Intervene Policy & Banned No-Knock Warrants
- Launched MAT Drug Treatment Program at the Jail
- Granted Pay Raises for Deputies Based on Training and Education
- Increased access to 21st Century and Procedural Justice Training
- Added Dash Cams to Patrol Vehicles
I will tell you that law enforcement is a demanding and stressful job. We must support our staff with the best training and mental health resources available. We need to keep increasing pay to attract and retain the best trained and most qualified individuals.
The county jail, which the Sheriff oversees, is a pre-trial release facility and is not a prison. So it's important that people understand that.
Since I have taken office we have made a number of improvements to the jail including but not limited to an expanded medical contract, a innovative drug treatment program, purchasing a bosy scanner machine to help limit the drugs and contraband coming into the facility.
Law enforcement does not have all the answers. If we did we would have fixed all our problems already. I will continue to meet with and listen to our community members. I am the Sheriff, but I also am a community member and almost every day while not in uniform I have conversations after church, in the grocery store and whenever I am out in public with people who have questions or ideas about how law enforcement can continue to serve the needs of our community.
I am proud to say that the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office also has the only personnel advisory board out of 100 Sheriffs in North Carolina.
Position/philosophy statement
Safe Famies, Safe Communities, Safe Schools
Current Occupation
Retired
Age (optional)
68
Campaign Phone
828-278-9525
Campaign Youtube URL
I am a native of Buncombe County and grew up in the French Broad community of Alexander. I have law enforcement experience, 22 years of service in the USN working in Intelligence and Cryptology, classroom teaching, and Defense Contracting work supporting a Global Joint Services Cyber training program. I retired in 2022 with the VADOC at the rank of Captain directly responsible for day-to-day operations and the safety and security of 1,500 staff and Inmates at a level 5 maximum prison.
Today's Sheriff is a CEO and administrator responsible for an approximate 28-million-dollar budget while strategically planning and growing the Office of Sherrif to meet the challenges of 2026 and beyond. My above life experiences more than qualify me.
Buncombe County has the 9th deadliest jail in the state. The trafficking of Fentanly, women and children, and guns serve to not only make our county unsafe, but those of the neighboring counties that surround us.
Rebuild and modernize the Sheriff's Office and Detention Center by first investing in our Deputies, Corrections Officers, and their families. The Sheriff's Office is currently 70-80 deputies short. People don't leave bad jobs; they leave bad leadership.
I will regain the public's trust through enforcement of the Enforce the law, improving and developing the current culture of the Sheriff's Office, and capturing technologies to meet the public safety challenges of 2026 making Buncombe County safer and better for everyone.
Investing in our Deputies, Corrections Officers, and their families is the first step to improve the Sheriff's Office. I will hire, retain, and provide continuous training while advocating for fair pay and compensation for our personnel.
My job as Sheriff is to enforce the law. I will support the current adult Veteran's, DWI, and Aspire courts and will advocate with our local elected, House, and State leaders to establish a youth drug and alcohol court here in Buncombe. Currently there are only three Youth courts in the state. This will allow me as your Sheriff to work with our school systems and community leaders, to identify troubled youth and work to keep them outside the Judicial System.
Our children and youth are the future of our County, and we need to do a better job to ensure they are able to grow up and lead successful and productive lives.
2026 is the crossroads for our county. Voters will decide if the current course with public safety that includes the 9th deadliest jail in the state, a stagnant Sheriff's Office that accepts the status quo and longer able to provide a patrol presence and retain personnel, is acceptable.
I am not running against any individual or political party. I am running for the Office Sheriff. Public service is above any politics or agenda; I will be and work for everyone.
Buncombe County should have the best modernized Sheriff's Office in Western North Carolina and a Detention Center ranked in the top ten of the best in the state.
As the Sheriff I will leverage my experience and knowledge to rebuild and modernize your Sheriff's Office to include our Detention Center. We can once again have Safe Families, Safe Communities, and Safe Schools.
