Mower County Senior Sgt. Investigator Steve Sandvik will be sworn-in as the new Mower County Sheriff in January.

Winning with 6,946 votes to 4,364 votes for his opponent, Mower County Sgt. John Bachman, Sandvik will be taking the seat held by Sheriff Terese Amazi since 2003. Amazi announced her retirement earlier this year.

“I never went into this with any expectations,” Sandvik told the Herald. “I’ve been honored to participate in this process. I’ve never been a candidate for anything and I feel very strongly about our democratic process and I went into it to work hard and take this next step to serve the people of Mower County. It’s a very big honor to be a part of it, especially when you think back to why we have the right to vote and why we have the freedoms and democracy we have.”

Sandvik announced his intention to run shortly after Amazi declared she would not be seeking another term. Since then, he has received endorsements from Amazi and Mower County Chief Deputy Mark May.

Sandvik has 22 years of experience in law enforcement and has been with the Mower County Sheriff’s Office for over 17 years. He is a member of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, the multidisciplinary child and vulnerable adult protection teams and the SE MN Violent Crimes Drug and Gang Task Force.

Bachman, also a long-time law enforcement veteran, told the Herald he called Sandvik Wednesday morning to congratulate him.

“I want to thank all of my supporters,” he said. “It was definitely an experience being part of the process.”

When asked if he would seek the sheriff’s office in 2022, Bachman indicated he likely would not, saying campaigning “takes a toll on you.”

“I want to thank everybody who participated,” he said. “The voters have spoken and we’ll move forward with Steve.”

“I’m very grateful to the residents of Mower County for showing their confidence in me and I plan to continue to move forward and continue the quality legacy Sheriff Amazi has left for me,” Sandvik said.