Today in session the Delaware County Commissioners appointed Jeffrey C. Balzer to serve as acting County Sheriff, following the retirement of Sheriff Russell Martin.
Martin, who had served as the county’s Sheriff since June 2012, announced his plans to retire from a 43-year career in law enforcement earlier this year. His retirement takes effect today. Balzer has been a Chief Deputy with the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office since 2016.
According to the Ohio Revised Code, county commissioners are empowered to appoint an acting officer to fill the duties of another county office when it is vacated more than 40 days before the next general election. Balzer will serve no less than five days and no more than 45 days before the Delaware County Republican Party’s Central Committee must then appoint a successor to Martin, who is a Republican. That appointee will fill the remainder of Martin’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2024.
Jeff Benton, president of the Delaware County Board of Commissioners, said that he and his fellow Commissioners, Gary Merrell and Barb Lewis, felt that Balzer’s extensive experience in law enforcement, as well as his recent success in overseeing Delaware County Jail operations, more than qualifies him for the acting sheriff appointment.
“We have gotten to know this fine officer over the last 6+ years,” Benton said, “and we have no doubt he will represent this office and our county with integrity.”
Balzer, originally from the Springfield, Ohio, area, has been a resident of Delaware County for 37 years. He and his wife, Amy, raised their three children in the county where all of them graduated from Buckeye Valley H.S.
Balzer became a deputy sheriff in Champaign County after graduating from Ohio University. He later moved to Delaware County and joined the City of Delaware’s police department. After several years on the force in Delaware, Balzer was appointed a Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Ohio where his assignments involved court security, judicial protection, witness security, fugitive investigations, and terrorism investigations. He retired early from U.S. Marshals Service to join the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.
For more information about the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, please go to: https://sheriff.co.delaware.oh.us/.
