ANN ARBOR, MI – In a May 31 email to his staff, longtime Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie announced he won’t be seeking reelection next year.

“This has been a hard decision,” Mackie wrote, confirming he intends to serve out his current term and step aside Dec. 31, 2020.

“It has been, and will continue to be, a pleasure working with you talented, committed, hard-working public servants,” he wrote. “Change happens. Some we cannot control. Some we can.”

The Ann Arbor News/MLive received a copy of Mackie’s email in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

Mackie has not responded to requests for comment since sending the note, though sources with knowledge of it and his retirement plans have told The News he would not run again.

His announcement to his staff came just a few days after reformist candidate Eli Savit announced his 2020 campaign for prosecutor.

Arianne Slay, one of Mackie’s former assistants who now works in the city attorney’s office, then announced she also is running for the seat now that Mackie is not seeking reelection.

Between his time as an assistant prosecuting attorney and his subsequent years as the county’s chief elected prosecutor, Mackie, 71, said he has spent much of his life in the office.

“This is one of the reasons that I recognize that I am incredibly fortunate,” wrote Mackie, who was first elected in 1992.

Mackie said his decision came after a few months of reflection and conversations at home.

“It is time,” he wrote. “It will be good for the office to have a younger, more politically savvy elected prosecutor. Someone new may prove more persuasive with administration and the Board of Commissioners.”

What will not change is the “amazing quality of the personnel in this office and the high-quality service you provide to the people,” Mackie wrote to his staff. “I am proud to be a prosecutor and I am proud of all of you. We make a real difference in the lives of the people we encounter, especially the victims of crime.”

He added, “You do good and you do it well, always adhering to the highest ethics.”

Mackie ended his email by telling his staff not to worry, that he had no doubt a serious candidate would run to succeed him.

“Everything will be okay,” he wrote, encouraging his staff to “keep doing the people’s work.”

Political insiders expect Mackie to support Slay, but he has not officially announced an endorsement.

Savit announced several endorsements for his campaign in recent days, including:

Abdul El-Sayed, former Democratic Michigan governor candidate

University of Michigan regents Mark Bernstein, Jordan Acker and Paul Brown

Former County Commissioner Michelle Deatrick, D-Superior Township

Ann Arbor businesswoman Anuja Rajendra, who was prosecuted by Mackie over her campaign literature wording last year when she ran for state Senate

Elena Greer, Michigan Democratic Party youth vice chair

Ypsilanti Township Trustees Heather Roe and Jimmie Wilson Jr.

Chris Savage, Washtenaw County Democratic Party chair and community organizer from Dexter

Samuel Bagenstos, University of Michigan law professor and 2018 Michigan Supreme Court Democratic nominee

Stephanie White, former Equality Michigan executive director

County Commissioner Katie Scott, D-Ann Arbor

Savit, who works in Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s office, has been a tireless advocate for people his entire career, taking on “big pharma,” banks and corporations, Scott said in a statement.

“His progressive values and work for children, families, labor and the LGBTQ community are to be admired,” she said. “Across the United States, our criminal justice system is in dire need of reform and I am excited to see Eli do that work here in Washtenaw County.”

Slay, who has not yet announced endorsements, worked as an assistant county prosecutor under Mackie from 2008 to 2017 and is now a senior assistant city attorney in Ann Arbor.

Slay and Savit both say they want to bring an increased focus on rehabilitation for offenders, working with mental health, housing and substance abuse treatment partners to help people lead productive lives in the community instead of being sent to jail or prison.