WASHINGTON STATE – Multiple sheriffs across the state have spoken out against Senate Bill 5974, which introduces stricter eligibility standards for who can serve as sheriff or police chief within the state and allows the state to remove elected sheriffs from office.
The bill passed the Washington State Senate on February 12, and is currently being considered by the House of Representatives. If it passes the House, the bill would be sent to the Governor’s Office.
On Tuesday, Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels shared a video on Facebook of his testimony against the bill during the House Committee on Community Safety hearing, which took place on Monday.
“This legislation undermines two bedrock principles of Washington state law: voter sovereignty and free elections,” Nowels said.
Sheriff Nowels stated that the bill would allow the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) to bypass the recall process granted to voters by the state constitution.
“Removal of an elected official must remain in the hands of the people, not an elected board,” Nowels said.
Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee also spoke out against the legislature on Tuesday, releasing a written statement via Facebook.
“Who will be choosing your next Sheriff? Who gets to determine if they remain in office? According to SB 5974, you will only get that privilege if the candidate first meets the approval of the Washington State Patrol and the Criminal Justice Training Commission,” Sheriff Blakeslee said. “You can only choose from those that have been pre-selected by the state, and the Sheriff can be removed from office by the CJTC without the local citizens having a voice.”
“Prefiling CJTC approval creates an unelected gatekeeper to candidacy,” Nowels said. “These provisions disenfranchise voters and chill competition.”
Sheriff Blakeslee expressed concerns over the members who would comprise the CJTC and make decisions impacting law enforcement across the state. He emphasized the CJTC’s ability to only have 5 official law enforcement members, while the remaining 16 members must be specifically “non-law enforcement.”
“It seems absurd that less than ¼ of the Commission members are actually in law enforcement,” Blakeslee said.
Sheriff Blakeslee also voiced his issue with the bill regarding RCW 43.101.105, which lists the reasons a law enforcement officer can be “de-certified.” Blakeslee called attention in particular to (3)(j)(iv), a criterion for removal that cites a law enforcement officer’s “unwillingness to uphold the officer’s sworn oath to enforce the Constitutional laws of the United States and the state of Washington.”
“What happens when there is conflict between the two?” Blakeslee said. “Sheriffs have always been the ones who could push back on unconstitutional laws. With this new law, every Sheriff would be in fear of losing their job if they pushed back against the state.”
“Beyond constitutional defects, these bills imposed unfunded mandates, costly background checks, policy rewrites, and volunteer restrictions that cripple search and rescue and chaplaincy programs,” Nowels added. “Spokane County estimates over $100,000 in compliance and litigation exposure if this legislation passes.”
Sheriff Nowels and Blakeslee encouraged community members to submit a comment to their legislators online, and to send Governor Ferguson an electronic message regarding the proposed bill.
