(The Center Square) – A group of Washington sheriffs urging Gov. Bob Ferguson to veto sections of Senate Bill 5974 is still waiting to find out if their concerns will be addressed when the bill is signed into law.
The highly contentious bill would require county sheriffs and police chiefs to meet new eligibility requirements, which include having at least five years of full-time law enforcement experience, and not having done or said anything that would get state certification revoked by the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC). The commission could revoke certification for misconduct, leading to elected sheriffs being removed from office.
Lawmakers amended the bill to clarify that the five years of experience provision doesn’t apply to current sheriffs. Pacific County sheriff, Daniel Garcia, a Navy veteran who won office without prior law enforcement experience, would have been decertified if not for the change.
King County Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall would also have been decertified, but for an amendment to exempt her from the bill’s required five years of consecutive commissioned law enforcement service.
As reported by The Center Square, Kitsap County Sheriff’s candidate Rick Kuss appears to be the first casualty of the bill.
Kuss is a retired U.S. Navy officer who holds a master’s degree in criminal justice and has served as a deputy with the King County Sheriff’s Office since 2023.
Despite the combination of military leadership and active patrol experience, the bill’s strict uninterrupted employment timeline would disqualify him from appearing on the ballot.
Kuss told The Center Square he expects there will be legal challenges to the bill once it is signed into law, and in the meantime, he’s continuing with the campaign.
“Nothing has stopped me from my current path forward and doing what I’m doing and continuing campaigning until the day they physically remove me from the ballot for this upcoming election,” Kuss said.
Mason County Sheriff Ryan Spurling said his constituents are still asking a lot of questions about the bill.
“They’re asking what does this mean?” said Spurling in an interview Monday with The Center Square. “Why is it that they’re trying to take away our ability to elect or remove a sheriff? It’s a big concern because after sheriffs are done, who’s next?”
Critics are concerned that the measure gives the CJTC too much power with all members appointed by the governor.
Spurling, whose term on the Commission is set to expire in June of this year, said he believes the bill is about politically stifling elected sheriffs.
“They want to control what sheriffs say,” he said. “I hear politicians say things that aren’t necessarily true all the time, yet they’re not necessarily held accountable, but sheriffs are in a different category, according to a lot of people. This bill effectively will mute sheriffs because of the threat of being decertified and removed.”
The letter sent to Gov. Ferguson from the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association was signed by Sheriff Spurling of Mason County, Sheriff Clay Myers of Kittitas County, Sheriff Mark Crider of Walla Walla County, and Sheriff Brad Manke of Stevens County.
As opposed to having the CJTC decertify an elected sheriff, the sheriffs suggest a recall proceeding be initiated if a sheriff is decertified for conduct after taking office. That process still leaves it up to voters.
Coming to the sheriff’s office after 25 years with State Patrol, Spurling said he wasn’t used to politics being mixed with law enforcement.
“If I’m doing my job well, you don’t necessarily even know what my political views are because if you’re a victim, a suspect, or a witness, what does it matter? It really doesn’t. I’m going to enforce the law impartially,” Spurling said. “I’ve asked my community, should I be speaking out like some of the other sheriffs have? If my constituents are pushing me to stand up against something that Olympia is doing, I’m going to speak out….and this [bill] is going to potentially stifle that and take away the First Amendment rights of an elected official.”
