Sheriff Keith Swank

Pierce County, you should have your ballots by now. We have several very important elections. Here are the candidates that I support:

State Senate District 26: Michele Caldier

Pierce County Council District 5: Terry Wise

Port of Tacoma: Tim Payne, JT Wilcox, Dick Marzano

Charter Review:

District One: Steve McCoy, Sharon Hanek, Jerome O'Leary

District Two: Tyron Christopherson, Brenda Milewski, Elizabeth Herrera

District Three: Judson Willis, Caleb Heimlich, Hollie Rogge

District Four: Maricres Castro, Leslie Young, Michael Catsi

District Five: Mason Fletcher, Brett Johnson, Carol Sue Braaten

District Six: John Colvin, Sam Scott, Loujanna (LJ) Rohrer

District Seven: Pat McMonigle, Gary Parker, Jesse Young

My picks for Charter Commission:

District 1-1 Steve McCoy
District 1-2 Sharon Hanek
District 1-3 Jerome O’Leary
District 2-1 Tyler Christopherson
District 2-2 Brenda Milewski
District 2-3 Elizabeth Herrera
District 3-1 Judson Willis
District 3-2 Caleb Heimlich
District 3-3 Hollie Riggs or Nicole Weber
District 4-1 Vince Navarre
District 4-2 NA
District 4-3 NA
District 5-1 Mason Fletcher
District 5-2 Brett Johnson
District 5-3 Carol Sue Braaten
District 6-1 John P Colvin
District 6-2 Sam Scott
District 6-3 Louanna (LJ) Rohrer
District 7-1 Gary Wescott or Randy Boss
District 7-2 Gary Parker
District 7-3 Jesse L Young

We need these men and women to win. The County is on the line. Give your time and money to your district candidate. If you have extra of either time and/or money, help another candidate. I am available to campaign with any listed here. Let’s win!

We must protect the independence of our elected sheriffs. Sign in opposed to this bill without delay.

LEGISLATIVE SPOTLIGHT:

HB 1399: Removal of elected Sheriff without a vote of the people

This bill was brought forth by the Coalition for Police Accountability. I sat down with them numerous times to try and gain perspective, understand intent, and provide feedback. To my knowledge, not a single piece of feedback I provided is in the current draft of this bill.

I believe deep down that there is a larger ulterior motive going on to get rid of elected Sheriff’s entirely and make them all appointed, with this bill signaling the first move in that direction. It makes sense, because once the elected Sheriff’s are gone, the loud advocates speaking out against the current direction of the criminal justice system are gone, leaving little resistance.

The bill is extremely expansive covering dozens of topics, but there are three major changes it makes pertaining to the role of an elected Sheriff, with the consistent theme being state control over local elections:

1. 🚩Creates a minimum 60 day advance notice for candidates filing to run for Sheriff (this would have disqualified me in 2022 when I ran for Sheriff) and tasks the Washington State Patrol with conducting backgrounds and approving Sheriff candidates before they can appear on the ballot.
2. 🚩Immediately removes an elected Sheriff from office if they are decertified by the state, and allows politicians to hand pick a replacement Sheriff until the next election.
3. 🚩Removes any discretion from law enforcement in terms of enforcing laws, requiring strict enforcement of all laws without the ability to give warnings when appropriate (ie, speeding tickets).

60 day notice: if passed, candidates filing to run for Sheriff would need to provide a 60 day advance notice to WSP, who would then conduct a full background investigation on every candidate. This would make WSP the gatekeeper for Sheriff candidates around the state. Why is that important? Because WSP is a state agency, giving the state control over who can run for Sheriff.

Removal of elected Sheriff if decertified: currently, Sheriff’s needing to be removed can either be recalled or voted out. If passed, the state would be able to decertify Sheriff’s and remove them from office without a vote of the people based on a finding of “unsuitability”. Why is this important? Decertification complaints can be made anonymously, and the rules governing the decertification board composition, procedures, and definitions can be changed at the whim of the legislature.

In other words, everything could be completely fair today with no concerns, and in the next session a law could be passed to target a specific Sheriff for removal. There are no guard rails once we go down this road; the rules can always be changed, and the definition of what makes a Sheriff “unsuitable” will be changed based on which Sheriff pushes back too hard on policy decisions.

Removing police discretion: the bill changes Sheriff duties by stating that a Sheriff “shall enforce the constitution and laws of the state, as interpreted by the State Supreme Court Judges”. ‘Shall’ is an important word in law, as it creates a binding mandate. I believe this is an unintended oversight in the bill, but the law currently allows for zero discretion. This would require a police officer to stop and ticket every person they observe traveling 1mph over the limit, every time with no exceptions.

The bottom line: this is blatant interference with local elections. The state would have the authority to pass/fail Sheriff candidates, remove the ones they don’t like from office, and influence the selection of the ones that are hand chosen. When I ran for Sheriff, there was one thing everyone I talked to had in common: they liked being able to vote for their local Sheriff. In many counties, contested Sheriff races dominate the headlines and viewership. This bill seeks to allow for state intervention in local Sheriff races, and will undoubtedly result in the weaponization of anonymous decertification complaints, which we’ve already seen across the state.

The Sheriff is the only elected law enforcement official in our state. Once that concept is gone, you will have no direct democratic influence over any law enforcement.

You can vote out a Sheriff you don’t like. You can recall a Sheriff who is committing malfeasance. But once you yield your sovereignty, surrendering your affirmative control by allowing deliberate state interference in local elections, don’t expect to ever get that sovereignty back.

Washington State Constitution, Article 1, Section 19: “All Elections shall be free and equal, and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.”

You can comment in support or against the bill here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/pbc/bill/1399

So, there I am at Canyon Raceway…

I had a wonderful time meeting with Rep Mari Levitt. I look forward to working with her to help make our community safe.

Keith Swank for Sheriff Victory Party and important updates!

Happy Thanksgiving. Nina and I are thankful for you and all your support. We appreciate you, and I can’t wait to lead the men and women of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.