Greg Zyburt

MARQUETTE — Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt announced he is officially seeking re-election this year as a Democrat after serving much of his first four-year term.

However, Zyburt is not running unopposed, as Republican Joseph Kozub has begun his campaign for the four-year sheriff term starting in 2021 and more candidates may apply before the April 21 deadline.

Zyburt first took office in January of 2017 after decades of experience in law enforcement.

Before becoming Marquette County sheriff, Zyburt was the Chocolay Township chief of police for 30 years and a patrolman prior to that, according to misheriff.org.

Zyburt has truly enjoyed his time serving the community as the Marquette County sheriff, he said.

“It’s been an amazing adventure. I’ve learned so much mostly about managing a jail,” Zyburt said. “That was one of the new things for me and I’m still learning every day.”

He said one of his biggest accomplishments as sheriff was writing over $1 million in grants with his staff.

“One of them I’m particularly proud of, that was for the jail diversion program which allows us to steer the mentally ill defendants toward mental health resources instead of incarceration,” Zyburt said.

He’s also updated some technology at the jail.

“I think another big thing is bringing technology to the Marquette County Jail and I mean that by implementing video visitation, e-messaging and polycom and what that has done has made our jail safer,” he said. “The primary reason was to keep drugs out of the jail and now that we have this coronavirus thing going on it’s helping us keep the jail safer from people being contaminated.”

Zyburt and his staff also developed the first Marquette County Sheriff’s Deputy Cadet program, which gives youth interested in pursuing law enforcement an opportunity to learn more about the profession.

As sheriff, Zyburt was also able to attend and graduate from the National Sheriff’s Academy in Colorado.

In the last year, the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office also hosted its first ever Corrections Academy.

Zyburt still remains active in the community, attending events and assisting on road patrol shifts to better relate to his deputies, a Facebook post from the “Re Elect Sheriff-Zyburt” page states.

Besides continuing to develop programs for those with mental illnesses and those suffering from addiction Zyburt plans to take a close look at the Marquette County Jail — which faces a daily overcrowding problem — if he is re-elected, he said. Zyburt hopes to secure enough grant funding to be able to construct a new county jail.

Overall, Zyburt said:“It’s been an honor working as sheriff and I’m looking forward — with the people’s support of Marquette County — to continue to do these things that I love doing.”

To stay up to date on Zyburt’s campaign, visit the Re Elect Sheriff Zyburt Facebook page.