VIDALIA — Monterey resident Glenn Lipsey announced his candidacy for Concordia Parish sheriff Tuesday.

After a narrow 187-vote defeat last election, Lipsey said he wanted to start earlier this time. Last election, he announced his intentions only six weeks before residents cast their ballots.

“This will give me a chance to get to everybody,” Lipsey said. “Six weeks was not enough time to get everybody in the parish.”

So far, 38-year-old Lipsey is the sole contender against incumbent Sheriff Randy Maxwell, who has campaign signs around town.

While he has not officially announced his candidacy, Maxwell said he has plans to do so in the future.

“He’s free to run,” Maxwell said. “We work mighty hard and will let the people decide.”

The qualification period will be from Sept. 4 through 6. Primary elections will be Oct. 20, and general elections will be Nov. 17, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Web site.

At Tuesday’s announcement at the Vidalia Comfort Inn and Suites Riverfront, early supporters asked for T-shirts and pens and bumper stickers were passed around.

Vidalia resident Snooky Mulvihill said she stopped by to show her support for Lipsey.

“I just feel that it’s time for leadership and we’re due for a change,” Mulvihill said.

Greatery Dotson, a Vidalia resident, said he was more than happy to work to help Lipsey in his campaign.

“I helped him campaign since 2003, and I’m not going to stop campaigning for him,” Dotson said. “It’s time for a change.”

The theme of change ran strong through the roughly 50 people who attended.

Lipsey said he wants to see some changes and thinks voters do, too.

“My phone has been steadily ringing” asking him to run again, Lipsy said. “(Maxwell) has had this long to do the things he wants to do. He has done some good things. But I think he got away from (a sheriff’s) main responsibility — protection of people and law enforcement. It looks like he’s focusing on running prisons.”

On his list of changes, he has plans to address drugs and violent crime. Lipsey said he thought the sheriff’s office has been making more drug arrests since the last election, but there’s still more to be done. He also hopes to create a violent crimes task force, he said.

Lipsey chose to run as an Independent this time rather than a Republican, as he did last time, because “party affiliation has nothing to do with law enforcement,” he said.

Lipsey has worked in law enforcement for nearly all his life, he said. At age 19, he started working for the Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office. After graduating from Northeast Louisiana University with a degree in criminal justice, he joined the Louisiana Highway Patrol.

Lipsey quit his state police job in order to run for sheriff, because the patrol’s policy wouldn’t allow an employee to be involved in a political race, he said.

Because he only lost by 187 votes on absentee ballots, Lipsey is confident he can garner enough support to win this year.

“I think we have a chance,” he said.