Breckinridge County residents start petition to urge sheriff to resign

HARDINSBURG, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 400 people in Breckinridge County have signed a petition urging Sheriff Todd Pate to resign for the position he's held since 2003.

Pate was arrested on March 8 after a wreck on KY 259 on suspicion of DUI. Kentucky State Police say he had a blood alcohol content level of .159, twice the legal limit.

The petition, being circulated on Change.org, urges Pate to resign, or the petition will be sent to Gov. Matt Bevin.

"He should stand by the same laws that the rest of us have to stand by," petition organizer Stephen Schick Sr. said. "We all need to be sober on the roads, and we all need to abide by the same laws, and if someone is not going to do that, they're not fit to be the one enforcing the laws."

This is not the first time Pate has dealt with a DUI charge though. Pate was previously arrested in October 2015 in a Waffle House parking lot in Bowling Green, and charged with DUI, reckless driving and terroristic threatening. He didn't spend any time in jail back in 2015, because his 30-day sentence was suspended.

"The first time, the community kind of gave him a second chance, and the second time he got arrested, there was an injury involved," Schick said. "This is not some personal or political ace to grind. We just don't believe he should be holding that position any more."

Pate could not be reached for comment.

While the petition holds no power in forcing Pate out of office, Schick hopes it can give voices to how he and other feels.

"I think it puts out there in public what's going on in our county and paints a picture to the governor or House of Representatives or Senate what's going on and how we feel about it," he said.

Pate has not commented publicly about the arrest.

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