Pine County Sheriff Nelson will not seek fourth term in position

Pine County Sheriff Jeff Nelson announced Thursday that he will not seek a fourth term as sheriff.

"I don't know that I've kept it a secret, but I am not planning on running for sheriff again this fall," Nelson said during the sheriff's report on WCMP.

Nelson said he'll officially be out of office effective Jan. 4, after a new sheriff is installed in November's election.

"It's been a while to get there emotionally, because it's been my life," Nelson said. "It's been 34-ish years that I've been here in Pine County doing law enforcement. Thinking of not having a uniform on, and all those weird things that are the last time ever kind of get to you. I'm still processing it."

Nelson's letter reads in full:

"After much consideration and many emotions, I have decided not to run for a fourth term as Sheriff.

In looking back at my career, it is easy to see God’s work in my life and my time here at Pine County. First, I need to acknowledge him and thank him.

Next I’d like to thank my family, especially my wife Diane. She put up with being a “cop’s wife” and then “The Sheriff’s wife” with much grace and ease. She was a support when I needed her and my biggest encourager when things were difficult. She juggled the family schedule when things suddenly changed and I could not be home on time. She took care of birthdays and holidays that I could not make it to. She somehow knew when not to push for an answer when she asked how my day was and the response was “fine”, but she was always ready to listen when I needed to talk. Time will tell how she does with me under her feet more next year! My children, Brady and Tori both rolled with the challenges of my shift work as well. They knew when to be quiet in the middle of the day and may have also figured out how to get a “yes” from me because I just needed to get some sleep. My parents both supported and feared for my safety throughout my career, and without them I would not be where I am today.

I am proud of the time I have spent in law enforcement and Pine County. Things have certainly changed in the nearly 35 years I have been in both. I had the privilege of leading through much of that change in the past twelve years as Sheriff. Society has always demanded change in law enforcement and law enforcement has always adapted to those changes. The pace of those changes has accelerated (from my perspective). I am happy to tell you that the Sheriff’s Office is better because of the changes I have been involved in. We have modernized the computer system for all aspects of the sheriff’s office operations, added squad and body cameras, focused on training, invested in the employee’s mental health, added search and rescue capabilities, started a drone team and rebooted the K9 program, to name a few. I will admit that the success of these changes involved several members from the agency being involved in the startup and implementation of them and all the employees for buying into the changes.

That brings me to the next group of people I need to recognize, my co-workers. I am not going to tell you that they all have loved me through the changes or agreed with my decisions at different levels, but I can say, overall, our staffing is better than it has ever been since I have worked here. That is a testament to everyone that works for the Sheriff’s Office.

Finally, I need to thank the people of Pine County. Without your support, law enforcement has no legitimacy. We are granted power to do our jobs and trusted to perform appropriately. Without mutual trust the system would fail. Personally, I have seen your support and trust many times in my career. The most obvious and public examples have been through the three elections I have been involved in. I cannot fully express what your support in the elections has meant to me. My biggest thanks go to those of you who put your name and reputation on the line by actively supporting me. I am still humbled by your support and I hope I have not let you down. Thank you also to those who quietly voted for me and trusted that I was worthy of your vote. I also want to say thank you to those that did not vote for me but still continued to support the sheriff’s office and law enforcement. I do need to also say thank you to those that called me out or actively questioned me, you made me better in those conversations.

This is the first time I have tried to condense my career into a short letter and I am really struggling to get through all the emotions that go with this process. Let me end with a recap of a conversation I had with a person who was leaving a long career they were involved in. They made a statement that their company had stolen their youth. I couldn’t help but think that Pine County has given me everything I have in exchange for my youth and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have served you.

Oh, and by the way, I will be here through this year and I still look forward to hearing from you on how we can continue to make the county even better. Thank you for your support.

Sheriff Jeff Nelson"