TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The fate of the leadership of law enforcement in Grand Traverse County now rests in the hands of three women after Grand Traverse County Sheriff Tom Bensley announced an early retirement that is effective September 3rd. Sheriff Bensley had notified his command staff about the decision about a month ago but submitted the letter on Monday to start the resignation process.

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Sheriff Bensley, a Republican, held the top law enforcement post for 14 years, having been re-elected three times since he took office in 2009 and although his term is not up yet, he submitted his resignation to the county clerk on Monday. He said to the Traverse City Ticker about his retirement, “There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle…family, health, succession, and a few other pieces…The time is just right. I feel good and I’m healthy, but I’ve always said I was not going to run for another term. All those pieces just seemed to fit together, and things are going well in the department.”

According to state election law 168.209, a committee comprised of the prosecuting attorney, county clerk and probate judge is tasked to appoint a new sheriff to serve the rest of Sheriff Bensley’s term through the end of 2024. Those positions are filled by three women: two Republicans, County Clerk Bonnie Scheele and Prosecuting Attorney Noelle Moeggenberg – and Whitmer appointed Probate Judge Jennifer Whitten. Their first meeting concerning the replacement of the sheriff was on August 8th. At the meeting, the committee decided that applications for the position are due August 16th and they plan to appoint a Sheriff by August 23rd.

Before becoming sheriff, Bensley attended Northwestern Michigan College, after three years of service with the United States Army. He began his law enforcement career as a seasonal marine officer for the Grand Traverse County Sheriff’s Office in 1971 and then was hired full time in the spring of 1974 as a road patrol law enforcement officer.

In May of 1983, Sheriff Bensley was assigned as the supervisor of the marine safety section. He later became the supervisor for the snowmobile and off-road vehicle programs and was a member of the Sheriff’s Office dive team for 35 years. Sheriff Bensley retired in 1999 after being selected the first Employee of the Year for the sheriff’s office in 1985 and having been awarded two Awards of Merit for outstanding performance of duty. Later, Sheriff Bensley was elected in 2008 as the 34th Sheriff of Grand Traverse County.

Sheriff Bensley’s resignation comes at a time when two other long-time law enforcement officers in the city of Traverse City have also retired recently – Lieutenant Steve Sivek who is retiring today after serving in law enforcement for 29 years and Traverse City Police Chief Jeff O’Brien, who retired on July 1st after a 32-year career.

Michigan News Source reached out to past sheriff candidates to see if they planned to throw their hats in the ring to complete Sheriff Bensley’s term. Scott Sieffert, who is currently a Grand Traverse county commissioner, said he would not be submitting an application. Kevin Sandvig, who was a Jail Sergeant for almost 11 years and a Chief Warrant Officer with the Coast Guard for 20 years, will not be submitting an application or running for sheriff in the future as he lives in the Tampa, Florida area now.

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Sandvig did, however, give advice to the next sheriff, saying that the person needed to be out in the public more so that there is more transparency and everyone knows the name of their sheriff and undersheriff. He also said that if he would have been elected sheriff in the past, he would have had more public meetings with the community and he would have had the road patrol interact with the public more. He said that he hopes that the new sheriff will be “more open to change” in regards to interacting with the public and his employees at the county jail.