Kevin Clark / Herald File Photo                                Sheriff Adam Fortney answers questions at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett on April 22.

Kevin Clark / Herald File Photo Sheriff Adam Fortney answers questions at the Snohomish County Courthouse in Everett on April 22.

Fortney: Group pushing to defund police is behind recall

At a rally in Olympia, the Snohomish County sheriff vowed to stay positive as he defended his record.

OLYMPIA — Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney said Friday that those pushing to defund law enforcement agencies in the county are behind an effort to oust him through a recall.

“It is the same group. It is the same agenda,” he told several hundred people at a “Back the Blue” rally at the state Capitol. “It is, ‘If you don’t agree with my social agenda, we want you out of office.’”

Fortney vowed to respond to critics with a positive message and to be out there “all the time talking about the good things cops do.”

“I will be a strong voice for law enforcement,” he told the crowd, several of whom had signs calling for support of the first-year sheriff.

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court cleared the way for signature-gathering to begin in a second recall. The first began in May and the two are not connected.

Both petitions assert Fortney violated his statutory duties when he penned a viral Facebook post in April stating Inslee’s stay-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic was unconstitutional, and that his deputies would not enforce it.

Signature-gathering for the newest recall, spearheaded by four local attorneys, was set to get under way Friday. It will contain two additional charges allowed by the Supreme Court. One claims the sheriff “endangered the peace and safety of the community” with public statements and Facebook posts inciting the public to violate the stay-home order.

The other claims Fortney “exercised discretion in a manifestly unreasonable manner” by rehiring three deputies — Matt Boice, Evan Twedt and Art Wallin — fired when the previous sheriff determined they had engaged in misconduct and violated department policy.

To get on the ballot, those leading the recall will have 180 days — until March 10, 2021 — to gather valid signatures of roughly 45,000 registered Snohomish County voters. An election would be held between 45 and 90 days later, if the signature count is certified by the Snohomish County elections office.

In an interview before Friday’s rally, Fortney said he’s prepared to spend the next six months defending his comments on the stay-home order and hiring decisions.

“Do I want to be going through this the next six months? No. We’re going to be absolutely positive,” he said. “I’m not going to be all negative. I would say the other side is.”

Fortney expressed concern of the toll the next few months may take on the three officers and their families. He said he plans to meet with them this week.

“I feel terrible for them that they are going to be drug through the mud by these people,” he said. “They just deserve a break. Leave them out of it.”

Monroe resident Lori Shavlik filed the first recall petition. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning allowed Shavlik’s to proceed in May. She has until Dec. 1 to turn in signatures, according to the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.

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