Asotin County Sheriff John Hilderbrand has joined sheriffs all over Washington state to oppose the new bill that would allow a group of people in Olympia to remove an elected Sheriff from office. Among other things, Senate Bill 5974, and it’s House counterpart, gives an unelected panel power over an elected sheriff. Washington sheriffs have opposed state legislation numerous times, especially in gun control, because their oath of office follows the US Constitution. Hilderbrand says this could be a slippery slope because once they can do this to a sheriff, they can start looking at other elected officials.
“If a sheriff does anything that that board does not like, they can come in for a misconduct, decertify, and remove from office.”
In a facebook post, Hilderbrand calls the citizens of Asotin County to action, writing that they should contact their legislators and governor to oppose the bill. He says if the Governor signs it, there’s likely to be an immediate legal battle.
None of our local legislators voted for the bills in the House or Senate.
