Hours before Capt. Marty Sawyer announced his candidacy for Aiken County Sheriff during a blustery Thursday afternoon press conference, citizens from North Augusta, Wagener, Jackson and seemingly every small town in between had begun endorsing the veteran cop on their social media pages.
Sawyer serves as captain of investigations for Aiken Department of Public Safety, a position he’s held since 2012. It also is a job he plans to keep until he takes over in 2025 for Mike Hunt, Aiken County’s longest serving sheriff who can’t officially step down until the first Tuesday of that calendar year.
There is a long way to go until then, and no one knows just yet who might also announce a bid for sheriff, but Sawyer became the first official Republican candidate on Thursday. His mentor, Sheriff Hunt, shared the podium and a glowing endorsement as both men stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the towering steps of the Aiken County Courthouse.
“Thank you for allowing me to be your sheriff,” Hunt said to a group of 75 people, many who waved red and white signs of support for Sawyer. “Today, I am officially turning the page of another chapter in my life. But let’s put the rumors to bed. I am not retiring today. I am, however, officially endorsing my longtime friend Marty Sawyer.”
This year marks a 41-year hitch for Hunt in law enforcement, 19 of which has been spent as sheriff.
“But it’s time to retire,” he said, while flashing a giant grin as bright as the light from media cameras that recorded the conference. “I’ve been blessed with a wonderful career, great employees and a wonderful family.”
Now, it’s time to relax, to hunt and fish, and to enjoy grandchildren.
Hunt and Sawyer have enjoyed a relationship that goes way back. In his much younger years, Sawyer served at 16 as a fire cadet with the Graniteville-Vaucluse-Warrenville Fire Department.
Then, it seemed he might want to be a firefighter for life, Sawyer said on Thursday. But then came another itch to be a cop. Along the way, he crossed paths many times with Hunt, who eventually told Sawyer if he worked for Aiken Public Safety, he could arrest criminals and fight fire. He started there in 1989, where he worked eight years as a patrolman. Leadership quickly saw his potential and assigned him to Special Operations, narcotics investigations and the ATF Rage Task Force, a regional anti-gang group led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Hunt, meanwhile mentored Sawyer, who eventually became Captain of Investigations in 2012.
“Today is a huge day for law enforcement in Aiken County,” Sawyer said almost immediately into his press conference. “It is the job of all law enforcement officers to serve and protect the citizens — and visitors — in their jurisdiction. And for the next 22 months, I will work tirelessly to communicate my platform.”
His first fundraiser likely will be held in Jackson, although an exact date has not been set. On the stump, citizens likely will hear Sawyer’s plan to:
• cooperate with law enforcement officers locally and statewide
• build closer bonds with the community and, in doing so, rely on citizens to help solve crimes. Or, better yet, to keep them from happening, he said.
• concentrate heavily on gangs and the growing Aiken County drug trade
• advocate better pay for deputies, advanced training, equipment and technology
• addressing mental healthcare, or a lack thereof, for deputies, military veterans and the Janes and Joe Q. Publics of the community.
“We expect our employees to be physically fit, but how much do we actually focus on their mental health?” Sawyer asked an attentive audience that included his wife Kim, his siblings, grandchildren and parents
Town cops and community leaders were there, too, including Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon, city council members, Aiken County Coroner Darryl Ables, Edgefield County Sheriff Jody Rowland and South Carolina State Representative Bill Taylor.
“I’m proud to call Aiken County home,” Sawyer said in a statement on his campaign website. “That’s why I’ve dedicated my life to protecting our families. But it’s time to step up and serve you in a larger role. I’m running for sheriff to give this county the efficient, engaged, and well-prepared law enforcement operation they deserve.”
And step up, he will, Hunt said. “He has the knowledge to protect. He is a leader. He has personality and perseverance,” the current sheriff said.
More importantly, he has the business sense to handle a $27 million budget, Hunt said.
“Aiken County citizens deserve to know how their tax dollars are spent. Transparency and accountability will lead to cost-effective and productive leadership,” Sawyer’s website says. “As we modernize equipment and train more deputies, the community will be informed of budget changes.”
During the press conference, he went further: “We will not hide or cover up any situation. If we do wrong, we will admit it.”
“It takes a cooperative effort to make Aiken County a much safer place to work, to play and to spend time with family,” Sawyer said. “No one person or agency can do it alone. Today marks the beginning of a long journey ahead. Together, we will make it, though, and I will be your next sheriff of Aiken County.”
For more information about Sawyer and his election bid, visit Sawyer4Sheriff.com.
