VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood is running for reelection in 2024.
He filed his candidacy with the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections on Friday, but made a formal announcement, alongside sheriff’s officials, commissioners, clergy and Jewish Federation members and his parents, on Tuesday.
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“I have two missions going forward,” the sheriff said Tuesday on the Volusia County Courthouse steps. “Mission No. 1 is fighting for protecting and serving this community that I love. The second part of that mission is fighting for advocating and serving the men and women, a lot of them you see behind me, that make up the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.”
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Let’s make it official. Got an announcement coming next week. 🇺🇸⭐️🚨 pic.twitter.com/wxsKhBKC8q
— Mike Chitwood (@SheriffChitwood) June 16, 2023
Chitwood was first elected sheriff in Volusia County in August 2016 and was reelected without opposition in August 2020.
He said since the sheriff’s office introduced an academy in 2017 ”looking for the best and the brightest to be trained by the best of the brightest” from across the country, it has received more than 1,500 applications and made more than 179 hires.
“They’re coming to Volusia County to work with us,” Chitwood said.
Rob Lennick, a rabbi at the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties, voiced his support for Chitwood.
“I could not help but notice (his) unflappable, incisive response to law and order,” Lennick said. “He is strong and firm and kind and compassionate. He is a man for all seasons. One of the greats of our generation... We’re proud to call you our sheriff.”
Prior to being elected Volusia County sheriff, Chitwood was the police chief at Daytona Beach Police Department for 10 years from May 2006 to November 2016.
He also served as police chief in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and as an officer in the patrol, tactical, narcotics and detective divisions before rising through the ranks as lieutenant in the Philadelphia Police Department.
During his time as the Volusia County sheriff, Chitwood has helped facilitate roundtables addressing the fentanyl crisis, taken an aggressive stance against antisemitic hate permeating the community and opened a new Juvenile Assessment Center for troubled youth.
Recently, he made headlines for voicing his support for a bill that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law giving sheriff’s offices across the state the sole ability to police unincorporated areas of their respective counties. For Volusia County, that means some deputies are tasked with patrolling beaches, putting an end to Volusia’s Beach Patrol.
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