Undersheriff Leirstein announces campaign for sheriff

PETOSKEY — Undersheriff Matt Leirstein recently announced his decision to run for the Emmet County Sheriff’s position in the next election.

Leirstein has been endorsed by current Sheriff Pete Wallin, who will be retiring at the end of his current term. His last day will be on Dec. 31, 2024. The next four-year term for sheriff would be from 2025-2029.

Leirstein, 49, has worked with the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office since 2007.

“I started off just like everybody else working the road patrol, handling your basic complaints,” Leirstein said.

From there, Leirstein was selected to join the multi-jurisdictional task force Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement. After that assignment, Leirstein briefly worked as road patrol supervisor and then was promoted to Detective Sergeant, where he was tasked with running the detective bureau for the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office.

He was appointed as undersheriff on July 16, 2022.

“During that appointment, I went through an interview with the sheriff and he asked me what my long term goals were,” Leirstein said. “I told him that my career has progressed the way I assumed and my goal would be to one day be sheriff, and he liked that.”

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More: Emmet County Sheriff Pete Wallin to retire at end of 2024

Wallin had previously told the News-Review that “(Leirstein’s) got my full support and endorsement. When I’m not here, he’s sheriff. He knows what to do. He’ll do a good job.”

Leirstein grew up in the Livonia area and comes from a family of firefighters, including his grandfather, uncles, cousin and brother.

“I realized quickly that while I respect the profession, it wasn’t for me,” he said. “I was drawn to law enforcement.”

His passion for law enforcement was ignited through participation in an Explorer Program with the Livonia Police Department when he was in high school.

“That sealed the deal for me,” he said. “That was it for me. I wanted to be a cop.”

Leirstein said he has also always felt strongly about living in Northern Michigan. He and his wife Nikki raised their three daughters, Abigail, Cassidy and Eva, in the area. Abigail is now a corrections officer also working for the Emmet County Sheriff’s Office.

“I always had a love affair with Northern Michigan,” Leirstein said. “The first opportunity I had to move up here, I took it. I wanted to raise my family here. I wanted to live here, and once the opportunity came up I couldn’t pass it up. I’ve never looked back. It’s been everything I thought it would be and more.”

If he’s elected, Leirstein said he would want to work on community policing initiatives, such as starting Coffee with a Cop meet-and-greet opportunities, in order to promote community outreach efforts.

“There’s a need for that,” he said. “I think they are great programs and it allows the public to see who we are.”

Leirstein would also like to start an Explorer Program in Emmet County that would introduce students to careers in law enforcement.

“That Explorer Program really meant a lot to me and it kind of gave me an early look at what policing’s about at an age where you’re still impressionable,” he said. “I would love that, and my goal is to start an Explorer Program here in Emmet County.”

The Explorer Program could also help address one of the department’s biggest challenges, which is recruitment.

“Each day, it’s getting harder and harder to recruit people into this profession,” Leirstein said. “Because we are having such a shortage of qualified candidates, what we’re finding is when we have an opening, there is nobody applying. And it’s not that there aren’t people out there, it’s that agencies are sponsoring people now (meaning they pay for them to go through academy training and then hire them when they graduate).”

By offering an Explorer Program and then creating a sponsorship program for those interested in academy training, Leirstein said they could create a talent pipeline that will help address recruitment concerns.

Leirstein also emphasized the importance of fiscal responsibility and employee retention.

“I believe when you build a good culture and you have a good foundation, you can recruit the right people,” he said. “And if you have those other things that are in place, retaining them is not that big of an issue. And how do we do that? We create a culture where they are wanted and respected and employees are heard and we allow them to have input.”

One reason why Leirstein said he wants to pursue the sheriff’s position is because of the “great challenge.”

“I believe in the people that are employed with Emmet County and that work with me. I believe that they support me as well,” he said. “For me, the idea of being able to lead an agency and instill a culture … to put my stamp on it, I thought ‘What a wonderful opportunity’ and it’s a challenge that I really relish taking on.”

Leirstein said, if elected, he intends to build on the strong foundation that Wallin has built.

“(Wallin’s) been an incredible resource,” he said. “Forty-two years on the job, and before that he was in the Navy. Here’s a guy who has really served his community, and he served his country. I’m proud to say that I work for him. I’m proud to say I’m a member of his office. I believe that I’ve represented him and his office well throughout the years.”

— Contact Jillian Fellows at jfellows@petoskeynews.com.  

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Undersheriff Leirstein announces campaign for Emmet County sheriff