Washington's 2026 Legislature: Democrats Plan To Destroy Sheriffs' Independence

Caption: In April sheriffs from across Washington State testified before the US House Judiciary Committee regarding the negative impact of the state’s “sanctuary” laws on public safety and federal cooperation. My sheriff, Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia, in the cowboy hat, can be seen in this photo with Pam Bondi. Pictured here are Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner and his Undersheriff Adolfo Coronado, Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber, Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakesly, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank, Benton County Sheriff Tom Croskrey and his Undersheriff John Law. Many more Sheriffs across the state would have attended if not for the extremely short notice of the opportunity. The hearing specifically focused on the Keep Washington Working Act. This deadly state law prevents local law enforcement from assisting ICE in arresting criminal foreign nationals.

Elected sheriffs are more independent and more effectively represent, and understand, the values of the people in their counties than sheriffs appointed by Washington’s governor or some other political body. Democrats HATE independent public officials! THAT is why Democrats in the State of Washington have been scheming to reduce the authority of our 39 sheriffs for YEARS and to defund them. At least three bills have been filed by Democrats designed to continue chip, chip, chipping away at yet one more freedom that We The People enjoy: Our freedom to choose OUR sheriff.

HOUSE BILL 1399

This bill was filed last year, but did not make it out of committee. HB 1399 would change the entire landscape of the election process for county sheriffs and replace them with appointed sheriffs who are accountable only to politicians, not to We The People. You can tell your two state representatives and your state senator to vote “NO” by clicking on this link.

A careful reading of this 20 page bill reveals many troubling ways our overlords in Olympia will prevent the voters of each county from electing the sheriff of their choice. I will name just a few:

1) Write-in candidates will no longer allowed. I find this very troubling because, in 2022, Pacific County got rid of a sheriff who was widely disliked for his failure to provide effective policing in many areas of our huge land mass county & his lackadaisical attitude, and elected the write-in, Daniel Garcia, with 61% of the vote. The public is extremely happy with him. This bill is sneaky. It does not state that write-in candidates have been outlawed. That would be too honest for Democrats. The public might notice. They merely put so many pre-filing requirements in place that a would-be candidate would need to start the pre-filing process with the State at least a year in advance, probably longer. AND the pre-filing time frame will be completely controlled by our overlords in Olympia. See Sections 8 and 10 of HB 1399.

2) When the sheriff’s position is vacant (with all the new laws, there will be ever more vacancies), the county commissioners will appoint the sheriff. See Section 9 of HB 1399. [NOTE: Left-leaning county commissioners dislike ELECTED sheriffs. Pacific County Commissioners removed two functions from our very popular sheriff in just his first two years in office.] Democrats in Olympia wanted to give the power to appoint all sheriffs to the governor, but they knew there would be an uproar from We The People, so this is the next best thing in their minds. Chip, chip, chipping away at the county voters’ right to choose their sheriff, one bill at a time.

3) Section 8 further narrows the pool of candidates who will be allowed to run and We The People will be allowed to elect as our county sheriff. It requires candidates to have “at least two years regular, uninterrupted, full-time law enforcement agency employment involving enforcement responsibilities with a government law enforcement agency.” Let’s think about that for a minute: In the bigger counties the sheriff’s duties are managerial, not patrolling. In other words, although he/she may carry a gun, they don’t use it and don’t arrest people. Voters elect sheriffs from the pool of neighbors whom they trust. They may or may not meet the “two year” requirement. Keep in mind, our overlords in Olympia will interpret this requirement, not the voters. For example, what if the candidate has ten years of experience, but that was five years ago?

The legislative summary of the bill, sponsored by Democrats, can be found here.

SENATE BILL 5974

Senate Bill 5974 would allow the State to remove a constitutionally elected sheriff and replace him/her with a Democrat stooge. Before being sworn in, an elected sheriff must first get the approval of an “appointing authority.” I don’t need to tell my readers that NO constitutional sheriff will ever be sworn in again.

SENATE BILL 5066

I call this bill “tightening the noose.” The attorney general already had authority to investigate for wrong doing law enforcement officers throughout the state but, apparently, Democrat AG Nick Brown is not satisfied. Senate Bill 5066 tightens the attorney general’s authority to investigate and effectively shut down a law enforcement office, including a duly elected sheriff’s office. The attorney general will have even more power to weaken the sheriff’s authority through the appointment of a non-citizen board which could decertify a duly elected sheriff and remove him from office. There are foreign nationals on other AG boards, so it is likely they would sit on this board. This bill also allows the Democrat attorney general to develop new rules which govern all manner of behavior of law enforcement officers.

This bill allows the AG to collect attorney fees from the county wherein he prosecuted a law enforcement officer. Tens of thousands of dollars in attorney fees (OUR tax money) paid to the state would, in smaller counties, shut down that sheriff’s office leaving the residents will no protection for a period of time. Then, the county’s deep state could appoint a sheriff of their liking SEE HB 1399 ABOVE.

DEMOCRATS’ OBSESSION TO CONTROL

The effort to remove the voice of the voter from the oversight of the Office of Sheriff is a bold one, and deserves an answer as to why it is even suggested. There are NO problems that a change like this would remedy. There is no reason to take authority away from voters OTHER THAN Democrat’s obsession to control everyone and everything in Americans’ lives.

As with every other elected county official, the sheriff is elected by a vote of the people, just the same as judges, prosecutors, commissioners, treasurers, assessors, auditors, and coroners: 39 counties, 39 sets of elected officials here in Washington State. By law, the sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. (RCW 36.28.010) This means that the sheriff carries the authority of the state and of his/her county’s citizens to keep the peace and is the highest ranking officer in the executive branch of county government.

Last year Democrats tried to weaken the sheriff’s authority through a non-citizen board which would allow a sheriff to be decertified and removed from office by people other than their own electorate. Now, they are at it again. Why? Because the sheriff enjoys a measure of voice within the community that is not always appreciated by other officials. Not so much the citizens that they serve, but other officials, some elected, some not. That is, the Deep State within the county or state.

The people have always been able to remove a sheriff (or any other elected official) through the process of recall or vote, and that’s the way it happens. Let’s leave the future of ALL elected officials in the hands of the voters.

Check me out on X @dianelgruber.