BEULAH -- Benzie County Undersheriff Rory Heckman will resign this week and focus on a run for his department's top post.
Federal officials in an April 24 letter told Heckman he is violating the Hatch Act by running for sheriff while still serving as undersheriff. The act prohibits certain employees of departments that receive federal funds from running for office in a partisan election, and Heckman filed paperwork to run for sheriff April 18.
Heckman chose to resign instead of withdraw his candidacy, and his last day as undersheriff is Wednesday. Incumbent two-term Sheriff Robert Blank is retiring this year and won't seek reelection.
Heckman in October sought an opinion from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which oversees the Hatch Act, but didn't hear back from them. Heckman again contacted the office in February amid media reports of Antrim County Sheriff Terry Johnson's firing of Undersheriff Dan Bean.
Johnson fired Bean shortly after Bean announced his candidacy for Antrim County Sheriff, citing the Hatch Act as the reason for Bean's dismissal.
Heckman, who served as undersheriff since March 2007, said he will stay with the department as an unpaid volunteer handling special assignments as he runs for sheriff.
Before taking the undersheriff's post, Heckman served as Benzie County's emergency management coordinator for almost five years. He previously spent three years with the Mount Pleasant Police Department and 27 years with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.
Heckman, who lives in Benzonia, said transparency and accountability will be hallmarks of the sheriff's department if he's elected.
"If there's a question, I'll answer it," he said. "I think that's very key; there's no secrets."
He said he also plans to maintain services and educate the public about the importance of funding for the sheriff's department. A jail millage renewal is scheduled for this fall, he said.
"If the citizens happen to turn that down, that would be catastrophic," he said. "You've got to keep it in the eyes of the public that that is so critical."
No other people have filed paperwork to run for sheriff, according to the Benzie County clerk's office. Lake Ann resident Jeff Morse, 43, plans to file shortly, he said. Morse is a former police officer who now works as a paraprofessional for the Traverse Bay Area Intermediate School District.
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