Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods has decided to run for re-election.
Woods made it official on Thursday when he filed the appropriate paperwork with the Marion County Supervisor of Elections Office.
The former Ocala Police Department lieutenant/watch commander was first elected in November 2016 when he defeated Democrat Dennis McFatten, a retired Marion County Sheriff’s captain.
Since taking office, Woods has largely been credited with bringing stability to a law enforcement agency that had been rocked by controversy prior to his arrival. Former Sheriff Chris Blair originally had been running for re-election in 2016 but pulled out of the race as part of a plea bargain after being indicted on two counts of perjury and one count of official misconduct. He had been accused of lying about the use of excessive force in an earlier arrest and had been suspended in May after his own arrest.
Woods replaced Sheriff Emery Gainey, who had been appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to temporarily fill the sheriff’s office in Marion County. Gainey served as the master of ceremonies at Woods inauguration on Jan. 3, 2017 and personally swore in the new sheriff.
Prior to becoming sheriff, Woods spent 26 years in the Ocala Police Department. During that time, he received multiple commendations and was a Medal of Valor and Medal of Distinction recipient. He has a BS in criminal justice/business administration from Columbia Southern University.
Woods joins several other candidates who have filed to run for office in Marion County. Those include:
- Clerk of the Circuit Court – Republican Greg Harrell;
- Property Appraiser – Republicans Lee C. Herbst, David Moore and Neil Nikkinen; and Andrew Serrano, who has no party affiliation;
- County Commissioner District 1 – Republican Justin Grabelle; and
- School Board District 1 – David Yocum, no party affiliation.