'Support your local sheriff' by Vincent

  
If you thought the foundational principles of democracy still mattered in Washington state, I encourage you to think again.  The newly passed Second Substitute Seante Bill 5974 (2SSB-5974) is a brazen and unconstitutional power grab that obliterates the people’s constitutional right to hold their elected sheriffs accountable. 
 
In Washington, the state legislature and senate have decided to replace the ballot box for an unelected bureaucratic committee appointed by the very same state legislators that created them.  This unelected committee would have the authority to decertify an elected sheriff and declare his or her office vacant; despite having been duly elected by the people.    
 
Yes, you read that correctly, faceless bureaucratic appointees will now decide who stays and who goes after lawfully held elections for sheriff are conducted in Washington state’s 39 counties.  Apparently, we the people can no longer be trusted to recall or vote out a sheriff in subsequent elections if we are dissatisfied with their performance or believe misconduct has occurred under their watch.  The Washington state legislature has effectively gutted the constitutional protections designed to keep government officials answerable to the voting public.
   
Let me be perfectly clear, 2SSB-5974 doesn’t just “tweak the system for accountability,” as proponents of the bill state, it bulldozes the very core of Washingtons constitutional remedy to remove an elected sheriff through direct elections or recall efforts.  This law flagrantly violates the constitutional safeguards currently in place and tramples on the liberties of the individual voter and disenfranchises the very citizens who put the sheriffs into office in the first place. 
 
The bill’s sponsor Senator John Lovick (Democrat- Mill Creek) utilizes well-crafted language that is purposefully ambiguous, employing words like “cause” or “updated professional standards” as defined by his caucus.  Their newly created oversight committee gets to sit in judgment and determine the criteria, bypassing the only legitimate process which involves the electorate.  You don’t need a law degree to understand that handing over unchecked power to political appointees without constitutionally based standards creates a fast track to abuse of power and voter suppression. 
 

 

This isn’t merely an attack on the office of sheriff; it’s an assault on the principles of self-governance.  This pre-appointed committee, the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) is not accountable to the public, so there’s no guarantee they will act fairly or impartially.  They are merely puppets for the party in power that appoints them. The potential for ideological purges, and cronyism are all but guaranteed. 
 
Washington’s state constitution establishes the structure of county government and the election of local officials, including sheriffs under article XI, which governs county, city, and township organization.  If we allow this unpresented erosion of electoral accountability, what stops this legislature from doing the same thing to other elected offices that refuse to acquiesce with unconstitutional demands.   
 
A constitutional mechanism currently exists if he or she violates public trust.  Olympia’s latest attempt to subvert constitutionally elected officials is another reminder of the dangerous trend of one-party rule.  Washingtons current framework ensures local control over law-enforcement matters and protects the democratic principle that sheriffs answer to the electorate.  The irony of proponents of 2SSB 5974 claim it’s about “ensuring sheriff’s act responsibly and uphold the law,” but the real result is undermining the very checks and balances designed to do just that.
 
By stripping away the constitutional remedy of recalls and elections, this new law neuters the most powerful tool voters have to remove a sheriff, should they choose to do so.  Instead of a democratic process, we get a blueprint where legislators handpick committee members who then hold the ultimate power to remove a sheriff without recourse, effectively bypassing the electorate.  Prior to going to print, the “no kings” movement could not be reached for comment. 
  
Citizens should be irate that Washington lawmakers think it’s acceptable to flout constitutional rules, ignoring the lawful framework that has safeguarded democracy in our state for countless generations.  We the people elect our sheriffs for a number of reasons, but mostly for their sincere public servitude approach in the field of law-enforcement and the independence they offer to the electorate; something that a governmental appointee is simply incapable of. 
 
Editorial comments expressed in this column are the sole opinion of the writer