Mike O'Connell will not seek reelection as Jefferson County attorney. Who he's endorsing
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell will not be running for a fifth term.
O'Connell was first elected in 2008 and is the longest-serving county attorney in Jefferson County in at least 120 years. In a press release, he announced his intent to retire when his term is up at the end of 2026.
'Frankly, there has never been a day at the Jefferson County Attorney's Office that I wished I was working somewhere else,' O'Connell said in the release. 'It has never happened. I have great affection and respect for the office and its people.'
More: Jefferson County Sheriff John Aubrey will not run for an eighth term
O'Connell also announced his support for Sarah Martin, his office's second assistant and head of the civil division, in next year's race.
'The County Attorney's Office is too important to retire without a sound path forward,' O'Connell wrote. 'This is not a position that can be filled by just any attorney.'
"It requires a specific skill set and our community understandably has high expectations of professionalism and hard work that I know Sarah Martin can meet,' he continued. 'That is why she has my full support to lead this office into the future.'
O'Connell is known for his landmark Kentucky Supreme Court cases: Commonwealth v. Wilson and Commonwealth v. Carman. He's also been heavily involved in suits against opioid distributors and manufacturers — bringing $840 million to Kentucky, with $60 million going directly to Louisville. He said he sees the funds as a tribute to his son Matt, who died in 2014 after an overdose. He was named Outstanding County Attorney of the Year in 2017 by then-Attorney General Andy Beshear and was a recipient of the Center for Women and Families Public Service Award.
Martin joined the Jefferson County Attorney's Office as an assistant county attorney in 2008, serving as lead attorney for Louisville Metro Council. She also tried the city's first hate crime case while serving as a civil rights attorney for the Human Relations Commission.
Martin announced her candidacy in a separate press release on Thursday.
'I have proudly served this community for nearly 17 years as an Assistant County Attorney as both a prosecutor and a civil attorney,' Martin wrote. 'This experience makes me uniquely qualified to run this important office. I love this job and see every day how the Jefferson County Attorney's Office impacts our community."
Reach reporter Keely Doll at kdoll@courierjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell will not seek reelection in 2026
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