Assaults are up three years in a row and homicides have nearly tripled, according to Snohomish County Sheriff, Adam Fortney, on his own Crime Data Dashboard.
For a candidate who promised to be tough on crime, these numbers should make us think twice about giving him a second term. If you wisely demand additional evidence before making your decision, you’re in luck. Fortney has given us a litany of reasons to move on. Here are my top six.
1. He doesn’t have even a single endorsement from any previous Snohomish County sheriffs. They’re all supporting Susanna Johnson.
2. Right after being elected, he reinstated his friends the previous sheriff fired.
3. He refused to fire a self-proclaimed racist and misogynistic deputy until the community forced his hand.
4. He put his personal beliefs above the law, and the public’s safety, when he refused to follow the statewide Covid restrictions.
5. He lost Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs accreditation due to not meeting its required standards, causing the department’s insurance to skyrocket.
6. He encouraged his deputies to disregard the new pursuit law. The law he told deputies to ignore was created to keep the public and law-enforcement professionals safe.
When you look at his track record, it’s clear that Fortney is neither interested in holding his deputies accountable, nor in enforcing the laws. At a time where police accountability is a very real and serious issue, Adam Fortney has proven that he is not fit to be a leader.
Michael Hertzog
Lynnwood
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