After rising through the ranks for 33 years, winning awards and becoming the first female major in the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio, Charmaine McGuffey was ousted in 2017, she said.
She said she was fired for being a lesbian and for calling attention to the use of excessive force against inmates. Her boss at the time, Sheriff Jim Neil, said she refused to accept a demotion after an internal affairs investigation concluded that she had created a hostile work environment, according to court records.
Now, Ms. McGuffey, 63, is poised to return to the office, this time as the elected sheriff after defeating Sheriff Neil in a Democratic primary in April and a Republican challenger in the general election on Tuesday.