SEATTLE (AP) - The Metropolitan King County Council voted this week to scale back the autonomy of the county sheriff, moving to make the position appointed, instead of elected, and to give the council the ability to reduce the scope of the Sheriff’s Office.
Both changes will be sent to voters as separate ballot measures in November, The Seattle Times reported.
Voters will decide whether to make the sheriff appointed and whether to allow the County Council to spell out the specific duties of the sheriff.
Council member Girmay Zahilay framed the changes as a response to the protests against police brutality and systemic racism that have roiled the country for nearly two months.
“They have all been saying one central message and that is that we need a new system of public safety, Zahilay said. “That kind of big, bold fundamental change I don’t think we can rely on just a sheriff’s department that’s independently elected that we can’t truly oversee.”
Council members Kathy Lambert and Pete von Reichbauer voted against both measures and Council member Reagan Dunn voted against the appointed sheriff measure and was excused for the other. The council is nonpartisan, but all three “no” votes have previously identified as Republicans, while all six “yes” votes have identified as Democrats.
From 1969 until 1996, the King County executive appointed the county sheriff. Since then, voters have chosen the sheriff every four years. Earlier this year, King County’s Charter Review Commission, a 23-member citizen board, overwhelmingly recommended returning the sheriff to an appointed position, arguing that it would improve the public’s ability to hold the sheriff accountable between elections.
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