Only days after a special election in which voters selected him as the next circuit clerk of Lincoln County, Dustin Bairfield took the oath of office Friday afternoon before a courtroom of family, friends and campaign supporters.

     With his right hand raised, Bairfield was sworn in by Circuit Court Judge Michael Taylor.

     “I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God,” Bairfield said, as he completed the last lines of the oath.

     His swearing in completed, Bairfield spoke briefly to the crowd in the circuit courtroom of the Lincoln County-Brookhaven Government Complex.

     “I want to say thank you to everybody,” he said.

     Bairfield pledged to ensure all are treated fairly in the clerk’s office and to note carefully the words of his oath. At times, Bairfield searched for words and called the experience overwhelming.

     “Usually, I don’t have a problem talking,” Bairfield said, laughing.

     Officially, Bairfield assumed the office Saturday but Monday will be his first workday overseeing the staff and the business of the circuit clerk.

     Bairfield initially thought his first few days in office might be slow, but in an interview after his swearing in, he said that may not be the case.

     “It looks like it will be a busy week,” Bairfield said, mentioning the possibility of a trial on Tuesday.

     Bairfield will replace Sherry Jordan, who has served as interim circuit clerk since January, when Terry Lynn Watkins resigned.

     “I’m looking for a real smooth transition,” Bairfield said.

     The transition, though, will be coming on the heels of a victory he didn’t win until last Tuesday when he defeated Janie Wallace Sisco in the runoff of a special election.

     “That first night, I don’t think I slept but a couple hours,” Bairfield said.

     Bairfield captured 53 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s runoff.

     The race for circuit clerk began for Bairfield in February of 2011 when he qualified to run against Watkins in the 2011 general elections and continued in January of this year when he qualified for the special election to replace Watkins.

     Bairfield underlined the role of those around him in helping to sustain him during a nearly two-year campaign.

     “It’s definitely the support of the community,” Bairfield said.

     Since 1998, Bairfield has worked in the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. His move to elected office caps off a 20-year career in law enforcement, though the duties of the circuit clerk will continue to keep Bairfield working with the legal system.

     “It’s a change in the chapter,” Bairfield said.

     As he takes charge of the office this week, the state Auditor’s Office will also begin an audit of the books at Bairfield’s request.

     “That’s just to give a baseline of what’s there right now,” he said.

     Watkins resigned office and pleaded to a misdemeanor rather than face a trial on felony embezzlement charges resulting from an investigation by the state Auditor’s Office.

     Taylor spoke for a few moments Friday, emphasizing the significance of the ceremony.

     “This is a momentous occasion,” Taylor said. “Oaths are serious things,”

     Speaking to Bairfield, Taylor underlined his duties to the residents of Lincoln County, humorously distinguishing between Bairfield as candidate and as officeholder.

     “As of this moment, you don’t have any more opponents,” Taylor said. “The bad news is, you don’t have any more supporters. Everyone is now a constituent.”

     Taylor also described the significance of the circuit’s clerk office.

     Said Taylor to Bairfield, “Our votes and our verdicts are entrusted to you.”