Longtime Martin County Sheriff William Snyder won't seek 4th term; endorses chief deputy

MARTIN COUNTY − Longtime Martin County Sheriff William Snyder announced Wednesday he will not seek a fourth term as sheriff.

A Republican who served in the state House of Representatives from 2006 until he was elected sheriff in 2012, Snyder, 71, said he plans "to serve until the last hour of my term and will remain fully engaged in serving the public."

Snyder, whose term ends when a new sheriff is sworn in in early January, has a long time in law enforcement service, joining the Martin County Sheriff's Office in 1993, prior to his time in the House of Representatives.

He said when he was elected 12 years ago he knew the day would come when it was time to “lay it down.”

And when he was elected unopposed four years ago, he said he did some soul searching.

“I knew that if I stayed two terms from then, I would have been 76 years old. And I started thinking I didn't want to be sheriff at that age,” he said Wednesday at the Sheriff's Office. “I'm an active sheriff. I'm not a desk sheriff, I couldn't sit behind a desk … I couldn't see myself just being an administrator.”

About two years ago, he said he began working on a succession plan.

“I didn't know then if it would be four years or eight years, but I did know that that time was coming, so I started mentoring young people,” he said.  “In the last few months, I made the decision, I knew the time was right, I knew that this sheriff's office would be better served by a younger generation of leaders.”

He said he didn’t want to leave, but in putting the office first, he knew it was the right time to “step away and let someone else fill the gap.”

Snyder immediately endorsed Chief Deputy John Budensiek, who earlier Wednesday filed campaign papers at the Martin County Supervisor of Elections office to run for sheriff.

“I do really believe that that gap can best be filled by my second-in-command, my Chief Deputy John Budensiek,” Snyder said. “I have 100% confidence in him. He’s a man of integrity, character. He’s a family man. Untouched by any scandals … so I'm unequivocal in that support. I’m publicly endorsing him now.”

He’s known Budensiek since he was 13 years old, Snyder said.

“I remember giving him a pocketknife at church and when he was 19, he came to work at the Sheriff's Office … he couldn’t even buy bullets, he was so young,” Snyder said. “I’ve watched him through the years, he’s got tremendous integrity. He’s a strong leader.”

With Budensiek’s experience as a SWAT commander and a narcotics commander, Snyder said “he galvanizes people, they just naturally follow him.”

“There are people when they tell you hit that door, you hit the door; you don't ask questions,” he said. “Because you trust that person's judgment. And I trust him.”

Snyder headed the Sheriff's Office during investigations of a number of high-profile cases, including the August 2016 slayings of a Tequesta couple by Austin Harrouff, then a Florida State University student who was found biting and chewing on one of the victim's faces; investigations announced in February 2019 into a number of day spas involving allegations of human trafficking and sex for pay; the August 2020 double slayings of a couple in the Rocky Point community.

Before joining the Martin County Sheriff's Office, he served 20 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department.

In a social media post Wednesday he said his tenure as sheriff “has been the absolute honor of a lifetime.

“The Good Book says for everything there is a season and my 52 years of public service is coming to an end,” he said. “I will return to private life and find meaningful ways to help keep Martin County a great place in which to live, work and raise a family,” Snyder stated.

Asked Wednesday if he would consider running for elected office again, Snyder suggested he might.

“I would. I think if the opportunity ever arose that I could run for a legislative position of some kind whether congressional or state again, maybe,” he said. “I think that's something that my age would not be a barrier to. But county commission? No how, no way. I love them, that’s a hard job. I have a fun job; they don't.”

After Snyder spoke, Budensiek, who spoke outside standing next to his wife Ada, confirmed he's seeking to run for sheriff as a registered Republican.

"Today is an extremely emotional day for me. I'm excited that I'm the one that stands to benefit from the sheriff's retirement," he said. "But I spent my whole career working with the sheriff in some capacity and I am humbled to have his endorsement. I wouldn't want to go through this process without his endorsement."

Budensiek, 46, who joined the Sheriff's Office in April 1997, said "I feel like I'm replacing Superman which is a task in and of itself for me to try and fulfill in how successful he has been."

"I'm keenly aware of how successful he has been, where he's brought the Martin County Sheriff's Office to," he said. "And the pressure that I'm going to have, to continue moving the Martin County Sheriff's Office in a forward direction."

Martin County Supervisor of Elections Vicki Davis on Wednesday confirmed that Budensiek filed his campaign papers to run for sheriff.

The plan for him to succeed Snyder, Budensiek said, “has been the worst kept secret” in Martin County.

“We’ve been working on this for several years because the sheriff was adamant that he wanted to have a smooth transition. He wanted our employees at the Sheriff’s Office to feel comfortable and not have a fracture in relationships as we progress into a new administration,” Budensiek said. “Most of all, he wanted the citizens of Martin County to have a seamless transition in order to keep them safe, which is our No. 1 priority … and my No. 1 priority moving forward.”

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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.

Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at  melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County Sheriff William Snyder will not run for re-election