Sheriffs sue WA state over law allowing state-appointed board to remove them without election

The complaint, filed Friday in Pend Oreille County Superior Court, was brought by Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels, Pend Oreille County Sheriff Glenn Blakeslee, Stevens County Sheriff Brad Manke, and Ferry County Sheriff Ray Maycumber.

The complaint challenges SB 5974, a measure recently passed by Washington lawmakers and signed into law by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson. The bill updates eligibility requirements for sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders, but critics say its most controversial provision gives the unelected Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission the power to remove elected sheriffs if they lose certification or fail to meet eligibility standards.

Opponents of the law say that the change marks a major shift in power away from local voters and toward state government. In their complaint, the four sheriffs argue that beneath the bill’s language about “modernization” lies an unconstitutional mechanism that weakens elections by allowing an unelected board, appointed by the governor, to effectively overturn the will of county voters.

“The most concerning provision of SB 5974 grants an unelected state board the authority to remove a duly elected sheriff from office,” Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said in a statement opposing the bill. “This represents a fundamental shift of power away from voters and toward centralized authority.”

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels made a similar argument in video testimony during a House committee hearing, saying the legislation “undermines two bedrock principles of Washington state law: voter sovereignty and free elections.”

The bill drew especially fierce criticism from sheriffs and Republican lawmakers who argued it was aimed less at improving professional standards than at creating a process for politically motivated removals. Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank wrote on X before the vote, “Sheriffs who dare push back get targeted. This is payback, not policy.”

https://twitter.com/Swank4America/status/2029277572253860095

During debate on the measure, some Republicans referred to the proposal as the “get rid of Keith Swank bill,” arguing Democrats were attempting through legislation what they could not do at the ballot box.

Sheriffs are elected in 38 of Washington’s 39 counties, making them among the most directly accountable law enforcement officials in the state. The plaintiffs argue that this direct accountability is exactly what SB 5974 threatens. Their lawsuit contends that voters already have the constitutional right to decide who serves as sheriff and whether that person remains fit for office.

The complaint points to Article I, Section 1 of the Washington State Constitution, which states: “All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” According to the sheriffs, the law violates that principle by shifting removal power from the public to an unelected commission.

They argue that, contrary to the bill’s title, the process for holding sheriffs accountable does not need to be “modernized” through state intervention. Instead, they say the new law diminishes the people’s inherent political power and attacks a core feature of representative government: the right of voters to choose their own local officials.

The sheriffs further argue that no other law enforcement leader is more directly accountable to the people they serve. At every election, they say, voters have the opportunity to scrutinize a sheriff’s qualifications, performance, and fitness for office. In that sense, they contend, SB 5974 is not really about professional standards, but about altering longstanding law governing a sheriff’s independence and authority.

They also point to what they describe as a glaring contradiction: state lawmakers imposed new eligibility rules on sheriffs and gave an appointed board power to remove them, while placing no comparable restrictions on their own ability, or the governor’s ability, to hold office.

In a statement accompanying the lawsuit, the four sheriffs said their action is rooted in the oath they took to support the constitutions of the United States and the State of Washington. They described the legal challenge as part of their duty to defend the rights of the people in their counties and to remain faithful to that oath. The legal action has the consent and support of Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam, Pend Oreille County Prosecuting Attorney Dolly Hunt, Stevens County Prosecuting Attorney Erika George, and Ferry County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Golden.