Sheriff’s race: Consider how police unions endorse candidates

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Everyone most likely has seen the signs supporting Adam Fortney for sheriff with all the local police union endorsements. What is notable is that only nine of the 15 county police agencies endorsed. Why not the other six? Only four of nine interviewed Susanna Johnson. I doubt if any met with Adam Fortney.

What voters should know is how the endorsements are obtained. I speak from experience as a retired deputy of 26 years and eight years as the Deputy Sheriff Association president. Police unions are like a fraternal group in that they tend to stick together. After the deputy’s union made its endorsement the other police unions followed suit.

So how then did Fortney secure the DSA endorsement. The union’s bylaws were so ambiguous they were interpreted to say that the incumbent automatically gets the endorsement unless he or she does something so outrageous to warrant taking it away. In past years when I was president both candidates names would have been placed on a secret ballot and sent to each DSA member for their vote. This was not done in this race and her name was never on the ballot so the members could have a choice.

To those who think because a candidate has all these police union endorsements they deserve your vote take the time to look at their experience, education, vision and decide based upon your own without basing it on what some police unions have said.

Ken Crowder

Snohomish