Gregory Tony is officially entering the race to keep his job as Broward County Sheriff in 2020.
Surrounded by supporters outside the Broward County Governmental Center, Tony announced Monday that he will be running against ousted Broward Sheriff Scott Israel in next year's election.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis named Tony the new Broward Sheriff after he suspended Israel three days after taking office in January, citing BSO's response to the shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Last month, the Florida Senate backed the removal of Israel by DeSantis. Israel has already filed to run again to reclaim the position.
At Monday's news conference, Tony didn't mention Israel by name but spoke about what he called the "gross mishandling" of the two mass shootings and other issues in the agency.
"The reasons for my predecessor's removal were just the tip of an iceberg," Tony said. "We're making a lot of drastic overhauls here in this agency, many of which could have been done for quite some time and it's been ignored."
Tony spoke of his accomplishments since January and said he has "the most diverse command staff in the history of the agency." He also spoke about not letting politics have an effect on public safety.
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"We can't allow for discredited politicians who continue to show poor leadership to come back. More of the same is not the answer. We need less talk and more action," Tony said.
Israel was first elected as Broward County sheriff in 2012. DeSantis has said he would not seek to remove Israel again, should he win in 2020.
