Caption: Governor Ferguson signed the anti-sheriff bill on April 1st.
The Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) has been around since the 1970s but it’s duties greatly expanded on April’s Fool’s Day when Democrat Governor Bob Ferguson signed SB 5974. Beginning April 11th a person who wants to run for sheriff in his/her county must first get permission from the CJTC. There is no way to get around it, even with Ferguson vetoing some provisions in SB 5974, it is still a governor-appointed Hard Left commission who will be deciding WHO can run for sheriff in a YOUR county. The voters will be deciding WHO becomes their sheriff from the list provided by this commission. Should one have any doubt about the goals of this commission, keep in mind that Katrina Johnson, the head of Black Lives Matter Seattle, was appointed as a member in October 2021 AFTER she organized four months of rioting in 2020, where two black teens were murdered. Her term ends in June 2030.
While the Governor signed the core of the bill, which requires potential sheriff candidates to first get approval from this governor-appointed board BEFORE they can run for sheriff, Ferguson utilized his line-item veto power to address specific concerns raised by law enforcement leaders during the legislative process. For weeks leading up to the signing, several Washington sheriffs urged the Governor to excise sections of the bill they argued were unconstitutional or undermined the will of the voters.
The primary vetoed section targeted provisions related to the automatic removal from office for administrative failures which gave this commission too much power to effectively fire ELECTED sheriffs by revoking their certification.
The version Ferguson signed still requires sheriffs to have at least five years of full-time law enforcement experience and shortens the window for new sheriffs to obtain state certification from one year to nine months. [The five year rule does not apply to current officeholders.] All candidates for sheriff must now pass a rigorous background investigation, including a psychological exam, within 6 months of filing for office. This effectively eliminates write-in candidates, such as Pacific County Sheriff Daniel Garcia. He was elected in 2022 with 61 percent of the vote and has proven to be a VERY popular sheriff.
Here are the details of the paragraphs Governor Ferguson changed via his veto power just before signing the bill:
1. Automatic Vacancy
The original bill (as passed by the legislature) contained a provision stating that a “vacancy is created” if a sheriff’s certification is not maintained or if they are decertified. Ferguson vetoed the language that would have made this removal automatic. He agreed with legal experts who argued that because the Sheriff is a constitutionally mandated ELECTED office, an administrative board (like the CJTC) shouldn’t have the power to “fire” them automatically. Instead, any removal must follow existing constitutional processes, such as a recall or a court order (virtually all judges in Washington State are Democrats).
2. Immediate Removal for Non-Compliance
The bill had paragraphs that allowed for the immediate removal of a sheriff if he/she failed to meet the new eligibility criteria (like the 5-year experience requirement) while already in office. The new standards apply to future candidates and appointments, rather than serving as a trap to immediately disqualify currently serving, ELECTED sheriffs, which the bill’s sponsors wanted, who were already chosen by their voters under the old rules.
3. Expansion of CJTC Administrative Powers
Certain paragraphs sought to give the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) broad authority to pull a sheriff’s certification for administrative issues not related to “misconduct.” Ferguson scaled back these sections to ensure that a sheriff’s license to lead can only be revoked for serious reasons such as criminal acts or dishonesty, rather than for failing to complete paperwork on a specific timeline. [The CJTC will define what is “dishonesty.”] The CJTC has been targeting Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank for some time now because they don’t like statements he has made on social media. Since their fangs & claws have been clipped a little, does that mean they must cancel their plans to decertify Swank?
In short: Ferguson “crossed out” the parts that would have allowed a state board to unilaterally remove an ELECTED sheriff, but kept the parts that gave CJTC power to decide who can run for sheriff in the first place.
LET’S REVIEW THE CJTC MEMBERSHIP
A quick glance at the membership tells us there are at least eight Hard Left activists who will be deciding WHO you will be allowed to vote for as YOUR sheriff. There are three members who claim to represent victims of white oppression. How many members are not American citizens? Note, the head thug of BLM Seattle is listed as a “community member” when she is actually a Defund Police extremist. Katrina Johnson also serves on a Ferguson-established committee that is hunting done “white supremacists” in the state.^ SEE BELOW
There are no positions for Christians. Based upon their titles, there are no positions for Conservatives or Republicans, either. I find it amusing that the governor’s office essentially admitted that they are only appointing members who live in the Greater Seattle Area by “carving out” two positions “East of the Cascades.” WOW, the Leftist hacks who run this state actually noticed there are Americans living “East of the Cascades.” So magnanimous!
Chair (County Corrections) Penelope Sapp
Vice Chair (Federally Recognized Tribe) Tim Reynon
Incumbent Sheriff Ryan Spurling
Incumbent Chief of Police Erik Scairpon
Officer Darryl Barnes
Officer Jeffrey Anaya
Tribal Police Officer Velma Lockrem
Prosecuting or Municipal Attorney Rosemary Kaholokula
Licensed Attorney Ryan Dreveskracht
Public Defender vacant
Elected Official of Local Government De’sean Quinn
Civilian Oversight/Auditing Experience Bart Logue
Community Member (East of Cascades) Kurtis Robinson
Community Member (East of Cascades) Walter Kendricks
Community Member (Underrepresented Community) Nickeia Hunter
Community Member (Underrepresented Community) Sonia Joseph
Community Member (Underrepresented Community) Trishandra Pickup
Community Member Annalesa Thomas
Community Member Katrina Johnson
Chief of Washington State Patrol John Batiste
Attorney General Designee Maureen Johnson
Alternate Chief of Police (Non-voting)Ken Roske
Check me out on X @dianelgruber.
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 She…
Washington State’s Marxists, Communists, Socialists, Progressives, Liberals and fellow travelers are cheering today as they contrived a way to wipe out yet another right long held by Americans: the right to elect their county sheriff. The two bills which accomplished this were passed along strictly party lines. Republicans in both the senate and the hou…
^As Washington’s Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson was about to vacate his AG office and be sworn in as governor, he established Washington State Attorney General’s Domestic Extremism and Mass Violence Task Force. Fearing that the public will learn of the task force’s unconstitutional scheme, members are prohibited from speaking to the media and from answering questions from We The People.
The task force, consisting of 31 members, some of whom do not live in the state, held its first meeting November 22, 2024 in Seattle, and its second meeting, also in Seattle, on January 10, 2025. It is obvious this task force is not interested in reducing violence. It has been set up to find and oppress Conservatives, Christians and various others who hold thoughts which have not been approved by Washington State’s far Left politicians, bureaucrats, and their fellow travelers.
The author, Diane L. Gruber, is a First Amendment advocate who writes for Substack. She calls her Substack newsletter America First Re-Ignited. Follow me on X @DianeLGruber.
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