PROVO — After more than a decade in office, Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman announced Thursday that he won't seek re-election.
Buhman, who has served as the top prosecutor in the county since 2006, said in a news release that after 11 years, he is "ready to pursue different challenges and opportunities."
Buhman, a Republican, went on to throw support behind prosecutor Chad Grunander's bid for the seat, saying Grunander has "the right leadership experience, legal skills and high integrity" the office needs.
Grunander announced Thursday that he will be gathering signatures in pursuit of the Republican Party's nomination. Having spent 14 years as a prosecutor in Utah County, Grunander said he has the necessary experience to lead the office.
"Now is not the time to experiment with public safety," Grunander said. "Local prosecutors are facing the highest numbers of violent felonies and homicides in history and an opioid epidemic ravaging our state."
Attorney David Leavitt, who spent eight years as the Juab County attorney and served as city attorney for both Fillmore and Nephi, has also announced that he is running for Buhman's seat. Leavitt is a Republican and the brother of former Gov. Mike Leavitt.
While Buhman did not announce his future plans, he pledged dedication to the office through the rest of his term and praised those who will continue the work there after he leaves.
"I know the dedicated and hard-working men and women of the Utah County Attorney's Office will continue to serve and protect Utah County and its residents with distinction," Buhman said. "They are superb public servants in the truest sense, and I am proud of the work we have done and will continue to do together protecting the safety, freedoms and rights of all of our citizens."
Buhman and his office have faced criticism for the past several years as several high-profile cases — alleging fraud, theft and murder — were ultimately dismissed or ended in acquittal. The controversy led the Utah County Commission to approve the creation of the state's first prosecutorial review committee last summer. The committee has not yet been formed.
An engineer officer with the Utah National Guard, Buhman completed a nine-month deployment to Afghanistan in 2013.