Who Is Running for Sheriff of King County Again Urquart

Male monarch County Charter Amendment five

Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local constabulary enforcement
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers

A measure to return the sheriff to an appointed position rather than an elected position was on the ballot for King Canton voters in King Canton, Washington, on November iii, 2020. It was canonical.

A "aye" vote supported returning the part of the sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position that is appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council.

A "no" vote opposed returning the office of the sheriff to an appointed position and supported standing to elect the county sheriff.

Election results

King County Lease Subpoena v
Consequence	Votes	Percentage
Aye	627,456	55.threescore%
No	500,992	44.forty%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Measure blueprint

On July 21, 2020, the King County Council sent two charter amendments related to the role of the King County Sheriff to the November 3, 2022 ballot: a measure out to return the sheriff to an appointed position rather than an elected position and a measure to allow the county council to determine (and potentially decrease) the duties of the sheriff rather than allowing those duties to exist determined past state law. Both measures were approved.^[1] ^[2]

Going into 2020, the sheriff was elected by Rex Canton voters to iv-yr terms. Under Charter Amendment 5, the sheriff became an appointed position, with the sheriff appointed by the canton executive and confirmed by a majority of the county council. The county lease provides that "whatsoever officer, board or commission fellow member, or employee who is non a member of the career service may exist removed at any time by the officer who appointed that person."^[3]

Going into 2020, the sheriff performed duties as enumerated past land law (rather than county ordinance). Additionally, the county charter contained a provision stating that the council could not decrease the duties of the sheriff's office (likewise known every bit the department of public safety). Under Lease Amendment 6, the sheriff's office (the section of public prophylactic), performs duties every bit provided by county ordinance. The charter provision stating that the council could non subtract the duties of the sheriff's office was removed.

The measures both amended Department 350.twenty.40 of the County Lease. The measures were not dependent on each other for passage. With the blessing of both measures, the section titled Department of Public Safety was changed to read every bit follows (with the previous provision provided beneath for comparison):^[1] ^[two]

Both measures approved: "The chief officer of a department of public safety, who may also be referred to as the county sheriff, shall be an appointed position, subject to section 340 of this charter, and shall perform the duties specified by ordinance. Both the executive and the canton quango shall consider community stakeholder input during the selection, appointment and confirmation processes for appointment of chief officeholder of a department of public safety, as specified by ordinance. The department of public safety shall be an executive department subject to the ceremonious service personnel system and shall utilise the services of the administrative offices and the executive departments."

Previous provision: "The section of public safety shall be administered by the county sheriff who shall perform the duties specified by general police force. The county sheriff shall exist elected by the voters of the county, and the sheriff's term of function shall be 4 years. The department of public condom shall be an executive section subject to the ceremonious service personnel system and shall use the services of the authoritative offices and the executive departments, simply it shall not be abolished or combined with any other executive department or administrative part and shall non take its duties decreased by the county council."

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was every bit follows:^[four]

Shall the position of Rex County sheriff exist returned to an appointed position with a requirement for consideration of community stakeholder input during the selection procedure, and with the county executive beingness responsible for bargaining with the section of public condom'southward represented employees?^[5]

Full text

The full text of the measure out is available here.

Support

If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted hither, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

The measure was sponsored in the King County Council past members Girmay Zahilay, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Joe McDermott and Rod Dembowski.

Supporters

Rex Canton Councilmember Rod Dembowski
Rex County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles
King County Councilmember Joe McDermott
King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay

Arguments

Opposition

If you know of endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opponents

Council members Kathy Lambert, Pete von Reichbauer, and Reagan Dunn voted against the measure. The Associated Press reported that "The council is nonpartisan, merely all three 'no' votes have previously identified every bit Republicans, while all six 'yes' votes have identified as Democrats."^[4] ^[6]

Background

History of the sheriff's office

The King County sheriff was an elected position until 1969 when the King County course of regime was inverse to a home rule class of authorities based on a lease rather than a full general police force form of regime that is governed by state statutes. The Rex County sheriff was an appointed position— appointed by the county executive and subject to approval by the county council— from 1969 until 1996.

In 1996, Section 350.20.40 of the King Canton Lease was created to do the following:

change the sheriff to an elected position;
provide that the sheriff'south duties are enumerated past land law rather than canton ordinance; and
provide that the county quango could non abolish or combine the section of public safety with another county section or function, or subtract whatsoever of the department of public safety'southward duties (unlike the council can do for departments with appointed officers).

Sheriffs have been elected in Washington every 4 years since 1996. The Rex County sheriff, as of 2020, was Mitzi Johanknecht, who was elected in 2022 and was set to serve until 2021. Mitzi was endorsed by U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D). The sheriff prior to Johanknecht was John Urquhart (D), who served from 2012 to 2018. Urquhart was endorsed by King Canton Democrats.

Country law apropos county sheriffs

Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 36.sixteen.030 provides that, in every county, the post-obit positions must be elected: county assessor, a county auditor, a county clerk, a county coroner, three county commissioners, a county prosecuting attorney, a county sheriff, and a county treasurer.

Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 36.28.010 enumerates the general duties of county sheriffs, which are as follows: ^[7]

The sheriff is the chief executive officer and conservator of the peace of the county. In the execution of his or her office, he or she and his or her deputies:

(i) Shall arrest and commit to prison all persons who break the peace, or attempt to pause it, and all persons guilty of public offenses;

(2) Shall defend the canton against those who, past riot or otherwise, endanger the public peace or safety;

(3) Shall execute the process and orders of the courts of justice or judicial officers, when delivered for that purpose, co-ordinate to law;

(4) Shall execute all warrants delivered for that purpose by other public officers, co-ordinate to the provisions of particular statutes;

(v) Shall attend the sessions of the courts of record held within the county, and obey their lawful orders or directions;

(6) Shall keep and preserve the peace in their respective counties, and repose and suppress all affrays, riots, unlawful assemblies and insurrections, for which purpose, and for the service of process in civil or criminal cases, and in apprehending or securing any person for felony or breach of the peace, they may call to their aid such persons, or power of their canton as they may deem necessary.^[5]

George Floyd death and protests

Encounter also: Policy changes in response to the killing of and protests about George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a blackness human, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 beak.^[8] Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officeholder, arrived at the scene and pressed his articulatio genus onto Floyd's neck equally Floyd laid confront-down on the street in handcuffs.^[9] Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd'south family ruled Floyd'southward death equally a homicide stemming from the incident.^[10] The medical examiner's report, prepared past Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal conclusion of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."^[ten]

Floyd'due south death was filmed and shared widely, leading to protests and demonstrations over racism, ceremonious rights, and police force use of force. The kickoff protests took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. A protestation in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same mean solar day, making information technology the first major city exterior of Minneapolis to host a protestation over Floyd's decease.^[11]

Click here to read more about responses to the killing of and protests near George Floyd.

See also: Local law-related election measures post-obit the killing of and protests about George Floyd (November 2020)

Ballotpedia identified xviii local police force-related or law enforcement measures on the ballot for November 3, 2020, that qualified following the death of George Floyd. The local ballot measures were on the election in 9 cities and 4 counties within six states. The local election measures concerned police practices, police force oversight boards and auditors, police staffing and funding levels, recordings from police torso and dashboard cameras, and other policies.

State	Jurisdiction	Championship	Clarification	Result
California	Los Angeles County	Measure J	Requires that no less than ten% of the county's general fund exist appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration	a
California	Oakland	Measure S1	Changes the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Committee and creates the Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Diego	Measure B	Replaces the Community Review Lath on Law Practices with the Commission on Police Practices that would exist appointed by the city council to conduct investigations and subpoena witnesses and documents related to deaths resulting from police interactions and complaints fabricated against police officers	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition D	Creates the Sheriff's Department Oversight Lath and the Sheriff'due south Department Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Francisco	Suggestion E	Removes the mandatory police staffing level from the city'southward charter	a
California	San Jose	Measure G	Authorizes the independent police auditor to review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force	a
California	Sonoma County	Measure P	Makes changes to the powers and duties of the Independent Office of Police Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO)	a/ ot
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Budget Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to consider law enforcement and public safety as its top budgeting priority	a
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Injury Chance Training Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to proceed to fund and support police force enforcement training methods that decrease the risk of injury to officers and suspects	a
Ohio	Akron	Release of Recordings from Police Trunk and Dashboard Cameras after Utilise of Force Charter Subpoena	Requires recordings from police body and dashboard cameras documenting police use of force that results in death or serious injury to be released to the public	a
Ohio	Columbus	Effect 2	Creates the Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct, subpoena testimony and evidence during the investigations, make recommendations to the Division of Constabulary, and engage and manage the new position of Inspector General for the Division of Police force	a
Oregon	Portland	Measure out 26-217	Establishes a new police oversight board in the city'southward charter	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 1	Adds language to the Philadelphia City Charter calling on the police section to "eliminate the practise of unconstitutional stop and frisk, consistent with judicial precedent"	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question three	Creates a Citizens Police Oversight Commission to replace the Law Advisory Commission	a
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	Independent Citizen Law Review Board Lease Subpoena	Requires police officers to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Contained Citizen Law Review Board	a
Texas	Kyle	Proposition F	Amends the metropolis charter to authorize the city council to adopt procedures and a committee to review the police department	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 1	Requires investigations into all police force-related deaths and to provide public attorneys to represent the decedent's family in the investigation	a
Washington	King Canton	Charter Amendment iv	Amends the canton lease to qualify the Function of Police Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) to subpoena witnesses, documents, and other show in its investigations of law enforcement personnel	a
Washington	Rex County	Charter Amendment 5	Returns the office of the sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position that is appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council	a
Washington	Male monarch Canton	Lease Subpoena 6	Gives the canton council the potency to specify the duties of the sheriff	a

Path to the election

See likewise: Laws governing local ballot measures in Washington

This measure out was introduced in the Male monarch County Council equally Ordinance 2020-0205 on June 9, 2020. The measure out was passed past a vote of 6 to 3 on July 21, 2020. The measure was passed by a vote of six to three on July 21, 2020. Council members Kathy Lambert, Pete von Reichbauer, and Reagan Dunn voted against both measures. The Associated Press reported that "The council is nonpartisan, only all 3 'no' votes take previously identified every bit Republicans, while all six 'yep' votes take identified as Democrats."^[4] ^[12]

See as well

External links

Search Google News for this topic
King County Elections Office website

Footnotes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.i King County Quango, "Ordinance 2020-0231," accessed August 6, 2020
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 King County Council, "Ordinance 2020-0205," accessed August 6, 2020
↑ Rex County, "County Charter," accessed August vi, 2020
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 King Canton Council, "Ordinance 2020-0205," accessed Baronial 5, 2020
↑ ^five.0 ^five.1 Notation: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Whatever inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ AP News, "Move to scale back Sheriff's Office ability heads to voters," accessed Baronial six, 2020
↑ Washington State Legislature, "Revised Code of Washington 36.28.010," accessed August 5, 2020
↑ Washington Mail, "The death of George Floyd: What video and other records evidence about his final minutes," May xxx, 2020
↑ The New York Times, "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody," May 31, 2020
↑ ^10.0 ^10.1 USA Today, "Medical examiner and family-deputed dissection agree: George Floyd'south death was a homicide," June one, 2020
↑ CNN, "Protests across America subsequently George Floyd'due south death," accessed June 2, 2020
↑ AP News, "Move to scale back Sheriff'south Function ability heads to voters," accessed August 6, 2020

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