Ryan Nicol
Democrat Joshua Rydell, who’s served on the Coconut Creek City Commission since 2015, has entered the race to replace Michael Satz as Broward County State Attorney.
Satz has held the position for more than four decades, but announced in June that he would not seek reelection in 2020.
In his announcement to retire, Satz cited his work on prosecuting the case against the Stoneman Douglas High School shooter. He argued that running a campaign would interfere with that work.
But although Satz is a Democrat, he was seen as more hardline and conservative on issues of criminal justice and faced a tough primary in 2016. He managed to defeat attorney Theresa Williams by about 3 percentage points. But he could’ve faced another tough contest in 2020.
In announcing his run Friday morning, Rydell referenced some of those concerns, looking to position himself as a more liberal alternative to Satz.
“Today is an opportunity to change the ‘win at all cost’ culture that emphasizes conviction rates and harsh sentencing of non-violent offenders over alternative sentencing options that have been proven to reduce crime and recidivism,” Rydell said.
“Here in South Florida substance abuse and mental health are real problems, affecting real families, that require real solutions, and that solution is not Florida State Prison. The residents of Broward County deserve a top prosecutor who will both punish severe crime and yet also understand how to solve crime and reduce recidivism.
“I am that candidate and look forward to protecting and serving Broward County residents.”
Rydell attended undergrad at the University of Delaware before earning his J.D. from the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law. He also founded his own law firm covering several fields including criminal defense, personal injury and family law.
Defense lawyer Joe Kimok is also running for the position.
