Friday March 29th, 2024 7:48AM

Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell will not seek re-election

Four-term Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell has decided not to seek a fifth term.

“There comes a point in time in everyone’s life when they just have to make changes and after a lot of prayer and consideration and talking with my wife and family, I think that time has come for me,” Terrell said. “I’m not going to run for re-election in 2024.”

Terrell said he made the announcement to his staff and their families first.

“I announced it to my folks first at our Christmas party,” Terrell said. “I wanted all of them to hear it from me instead of hearing it from somebody else.” 

Terrell said he has not accomplished anything alone, crediting the men and women he works with for making his time in office successful to this point.

Though he is not sure what he will do when he leaves office at the end of 2024, Terrell said he will be ready for a change as the law enforcement landscape continues to change.

“That’ll be 16 years as sheriff for me and that’s long enough,” Terrell said. “Time to let somebody else step up and lead our county. I’ve always said I believe in term limits and sometimes you’ve got to put your money where your mouth is. I just feel that it’s the right thing to do and I just have a great peace about it.”

Terrell said it has not always been sunshine and rainbows for his administration, but the agency has gotten through it one challenge at a time.

He said the people in Habersham County overwhelmingly love law enforcement and that is never more evident than around the holidays.

And Terrell said Habersham County residents should not look for his agency to back off its initiatives in the final two years of his term.

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