WA sheriffs urge partial veto of bill setting new standards for their jobs

Washington sheriffs are pushing Gov. Bob Ferguson to veto parts of a controversial bill that would set new standards for them and could lead to removal from office.

In a letter this week, four sheriffs pointed to sections of Senate Bill 5974 they want excised when the Democratic governor takes action. They say the legislation threatens to override the will of the voters. Ferguson said he plans to meet with sheriffs to discuss their concerns.

The bill would require county sheriffs and police chiefs to meet heightened eligibility standards.

The criteria include having five years of full-time law enforcement experience, not having any felony or gross misdemeanor convictions, being at least 25 years old and not having done anything that would get state certification as a peace officer revoked.

Within nine months of taking office, the bill says sheriffs need to get their certification if they don’t already have it. Current law gives them a year.

Until now, sheriffs haven’t had to meet the same eligibility requirements as police chiefs. Sheriffs are elected, while police chiefs are appointed.

Sheriffs could be removed from office if they don’t meet the new standards, though lawmakers revised the bill during the legislative process to clarify that the five years of experience provision doesn’t apply to current sheriffs. That piece would’ve disqualified the Pacific County sheriff, a Navy veteran who won office without prior law enforcement experience.

Critics worry the policy gives the state Criminal Justice Training Commission, which decides on officer certification, too much power to decide the fate of sheriffs. Supporters have said the legislation is about holding police leaders accountable and to the same standards as rank-and-file officers.

The eligibility standards and the new path to removal from office are the aspects of the bill sheriffs want to see the governor veto, calling it a “fundamental change in the balance between administrative oversight and democratic governance.”

“Together, these provisions use a professional certification process — used to regulate a profession — to override and displace voter choice,” the sheriffs wrote in their letter to Ferguson.

The letter from the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association is signed by Mark Crider of Walla Walla County, Brad Manke of Stevens County, Ryan Spurling of Mason County and Clay Myers of Kittitas County.

The sheriffs pointed to another measure they preferred that looked to initiate recall proceedings if a sheriff was decertified for conduct after taking office, effectively leaving up to voters the decision to remove them. That legislation didn’t go anywhere.

“When removal from this office is at issue, democratic legitimacy requires that the voters remain the final decision-makers,” the four sheriffs wrote.

Ferguson’s office has also received several letters from advocates urging him to sign the legislation in full.

Under the approved bill, county officials would appoint a replacement for removed sheriffs.

The legislation passed both the House and Senate without any Republican votes. In the House, a few Democrats sided with their GOP colleagues against it. In a hearing on the bill, one sheriff, Pierce County’s Keith Swank, expressed his frustration over the proposal so forcefully that some Democratic lawmakers felt threatened.

The legislation also would restrict the use of volunteers, but the veto request doesn’t cover those provisions.

Jefferson County Sheriff Andy Pernsteiner also wrote to Ferguson urging his veto. Pernsteiner’s frustrations are focused on the part of the bill requiring sheriff candidates to undergo a Washington State Patrol background check, with counties left to foot the bill.

“At a time when counties are struggling to maintain essential services, this level of new mandated spending raises serious fiscal concerns,” he wrote Thursday.

Ferguson said after the session ended Thursday night that he’d received multiple letters about the legislation, and is planning to meet with sheriffs to discuss it. He has about three weeks to sign the bill into law.

“I have a relationship with sheriffs from my time as attorney general and as governor, and so of course, we’ll take that meeting and hear their thoughts,” Ferguson said.

He noted the bill’s prime sponsor is Sen. John Lovick, a Democrat from Mill Creek and former Snohomish County sheriff.

“I’ll just have a lot of respect for Senator Lovick and his law enforcement background,”  Ferguson said, “and have a lot of trust in his judgment in particular, and a lot of respect for him as a person and a former law enforcement official.”

Lovick said Friday he hadn’t spoken to the governor about the bill but isn’t concerned about a veto.

“There’s nothing that these guys should be worried about,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure that there are professional standards that if the person at the top commits misconduct, the burden shouldn’t be on the community to remove them.”

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