Sandy Shores Mayoral Candidate Pulls Over Sitting Mayor in Traffic Stop

BLAINE COUNTY — A routine traffic stop near Sandy Shores has turned into the latest flashpoint in the town's mayoral race, after Blaine County Sheriff's Captain Frank King Sr. who is also running for mayor pulled over a vehicle later confirmed to be driven by the sitting Mayor of Sandy Shores. According to a statement released Thursday by King's campaign, the stop occurred on July 16 while King was on duty in his capacity as a Sheriff's Captain. King says he clocked a tan vehicle traveling 70 MPH in a posted 50 MPH zone and initiated the stop before realizing who was behind the wheel.

"I had no prior knowledge of who was operating the vehicle before making the stop," King said in the release. "My responsibility as a law enforcement officer is to uphold the law equally and protect the citizens of Sandy Shores. No one is above the law, and every traffic stop I make is based on observed violations — not politics."

King, who is challenging the incumbent for the mayor's seat this cycle, acknowledged the timing would draw scrutiny. "I fully expect accusations that this stop was politically motivated or that I was 'targeting' the Mayor," the statement read. "Those claims are simply not true."

Citing an active investigation, King declined to release further details, including the Mayor's name, the location of the stop, or whether a citation was issued. In the same release, King reaffirmed his candidacy and laid out a platform built around public safety and infrastructure, pledging to:

• Support Sandy Shores firefighters, EMS personnel, and law enforcement
• Repair the town's roads without prolonged delays
• Modernize the town's water system for reliable, clean drinking water
• Prioritize resident concerns in policy decisions

King pointed to more than 45 years of combined service in fire and law enforcement roles as the foundation of his campaign, closing the statement with a pledge to keep "fighting for a safer, stronger, and more accountable Sandy Shores," regardless of political fallout from Wednesday's stop.

Opponent Fires Back: "Taxpayers Are Footing the Bill for a Publicity Stunt"
The stop drew swift criticism from Chumley Bigchumbs, a vocal critic of King's campaign, who accused the Captain of using his badge to generate headlines at public expense.

"Frank King wants Sandy Shores to believe this was just another Tuesday on patrol," Bigchumbs said in a statement issued Thursday evening. "But let's call this what it is, a taxpayer-funded campaign commercial. He's out there burning county overtime pulling over the Mayor of all people, and then hiding behind 'active investigation' so nobody can ask him a real question about it."

Bigchumbs went further, questioning whether the stop was an appropriate use of Sheriff's Office resources during King's shift. "Every hour he's out there staging traffic stops for his own political benefit is an hour the taxpayers of Blaine County are paying him to do actual police work, not run for office," Bigchumbs said. "If Frank King wants to campaign, he can do it on his own time and his own dime — not ours."

Bigchumbs also dismissed King's platform promises on roads and water infrastructure as "the same recycled talking points every election cycle," arguing that King's record in office would be better judged by how the county's public safety budget is spent than by press releases.

Neither the Mayor's office nor the Sheriff's Office has issued a public statement confirming the identity of the driver or the status of the investigation. Weazel News has reached out to both offices, as well as the King campaign, for further comment and will update this story as it develops.