Seven Thurston County elected officials teamed up to announce their opposition to House Bill 1399, which seeks to “modernize, harmonize and clarify laws concerning sheriffs, chiefs, marshals and police matrons.”
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders, Yelm Mayor Joe DePinto, Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier, Tenino Mayor David Watterson, Lacey Mayor Andy Ryder, Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne and Tumwater Mayor Debbie Sullivan signed a joint letter released Monday, March 10.
By Wednesday, March 12, the legislation appeared to be dead in the Legislature with not enough votes to pass.
The proposed legislation would change eligibility requirements for candidates for sheriffs, police chiefs and marshals and shift enforcement duties for law enforcement officials. It would also place restrictions on the use of volunteers and specially commissioned officers. Opponents claim that the bill would allow state agencies to decertify and remove elected officials without the vote of the people.
“As elected leaders, democracy stands at the forefront of our work. We recognize that our society is at its best when free, routine and fair elections take place to install leaders chosen by and for the people,” the leaders wrote in the letter. “Equally as important is the removal of an elected official, whereas carefully constructed systems are already in place to ensure voters have matching authority in terms of who remains in office post-election day.”
The elected officials added that, in order for democracy to persist, voters must remain “in complete control” of their elected offices and that the bill threatens the democratic process and would instill mistrust in the electoral process.
“Any proposal to remove an elected official without an electoral process erodes voter ownership in their respective communities,” the seven leaders wrote. “Running for local office must remain accessible to all, and those chosen by their community to serve must remain in their elected capacity until those very same voters say otherwise. In our pursuit of a free and just society, we remain committed to upholding the integrity of our elections through [a] clear established process. While we all face many challenges, our democratic process is not broken. The clear path forward is more voter inclusion, strong electoral integrity, and voter confidence at the ballot box — none of which is accomplished with the passing of HB 1399.”
Sanders took to Facebook March 5 to express his disapproval of the bill, which he said would cause a “complete weaponization of anonymous complaints aimed at their elected sheriffs in an attempt to remove them from office” without a vote of the people. He wrote that he had received multiple anonymous complaints asking the Criminal Justice Training Commission to decertify him.
“This time, it is alleged that I failed to meet ethical standards when I opted not to arrest a juvenile I caught driving recklessly last week,” Sanders wrote. “Instead, the mother of the juvenile was contacted and the juvenile was diverted from the criminal justice system entirely and turned over to parental discipline. The complaint goes on to say that I am ‘producing my own personal episode of Cops’ and ‘want to stay in the trenches of the patrol division.’ I’ve accepted both accusations as the highest level of compliment. Ironically, there is now a complaint I do too much and a complaint I do too little.”
The bill is sponsored by a collection of state Democratic representatives.
