By Marc J. Elzenbeck
North America was raised on Sheriffs standing up for the rights of their constituents, for modest pay plus risk to life and limb. Hollywood regaled us with their tales, often in Western movies.
As the highest law enforcement officer in a county, Sheriffs had a tough job. Sometimes they had to solve deadly problems alone (“High Noon”), with deputized recruits (“Rio Bravo”), or a whole community’s combined decency (“The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance”).
In every story, the Sheriff has to thread the needle between law, business interests, ambitious governors, and above all, a voting jurisdiction’s supporters and detractors.
But what if the very concept of an elected sheriff is outmoded in the 21st century US? Washington State is set to pass Senate Bill 5974, which appears to allow a vaguely defined committee to de-certify sheriff’s elections. We caught up with Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank to learn more.
Sheriff Swank was elected in January of 2025, the first county outsider to be elected sheriff in local history. With long experience as a former Seattle police captain, Swank has been making waves ever since.
Swank’s first face-off with the State? Not patrolling for expired car tabs. We’ll get to that.
I asked Swank to outline the basic pros and cons of elected versus appointed sheriffs. “First off, the sheriff is answerable to the people like any other politician, because I was elected. It’s a very responsive political position. Of course, taking 911 calls and crime prevention are major, but my job is also to listen to citizens. People reach out to me for various things – property disputes, constitutional rights. Even whether they can mine for gold on their property.
“If you’re an appointed sheriff or police chief, you’ll do the bidding of the mayor or whomever appointed you – the county or city councils. You’ll do what they say, or you won’t have a job, so you’re not independent. You won’t be able to say, ‘No, mayor,’ or ‘No, council, that’s wrong.’
“We can say that, which is why it’s so important to have the sheriff as an elected position. To be able to push back for the right things for the people.”
Swank made the point, persuasively, that a primary responsibility of his non-partisan office is to exercise good long-term judgment. Is an ordnance good for the community? Is it compliant with the Constitution? Sheriffs typically serve as a bridge between local, state, and Federal laws and their enforcement, but also as a potential check and balance. I asked for an illustration.
“People often say, ‘You’re just supposed to enforce all the laws passed in Olympia, or by the county council.’ And I tell them, ‘No, that’s not correct.’ And they say, ‘Yes you are!’
“OK. What if Olympia passed a law this session that said, police no longer need to have a warrant to enter your house? They can enter whenever they want to, or under some broad pretext.
“Of course that may be farfetched. But just say they did. In that case I ask, ‘Would you want me to abide by that law, or would you want me to push back?’ And people always say to me, ‘No, you can’t come to my house without a warrant.’”
As for expired car tabs? Swank has stated publicly that he has directed deputies in Pierce County to not cite them as a primary offence. Currently, the Legislature is set to pass higher fines for expired tabs, including on parked vehicles in private garages, with escalation to criminality for repeat penalties, including up to one year in jail. The law is reportedly expected to recoup $25.6 million in revenue per year, a seeming speck in a budgetary tsunami. I asked the Sheriff about the subject:
“What if they pass a law and said your tabs are expired and the police can arrest you? That’s a good legal question, but the community impact is horrible, terribly short-sighted – 600,000 people are running around on expired tabs. They have many reasons.
“Now, Washington voted for $30 flat tab initiatives three times, so some are coming from a civil protest angle. Then you’ve got the underprivileged, off-book drivers who are just trying to get to work. Then we have the elderly. So, it hits disproportionately and we would say that’s an overstep, with actual arrests for that being an overreach of government.”
The sheriff’s role is perhaps the deepest root of American legal tradition. It has relied on local, democratic enforcement, which in turn extends back into 400 years of established English Common Law. The US has generally employed direct elections, harnessing community involvement (including posse and deputies), but accountable to higher constitutional constraints. Appointed systems offer professional selection, greater oversight and control, and closer bureaucratic and political alignment.
Do we want to keep election choice going for strong but less predictable mavericks who can stand up to bullies like Liberty Valance? Or has the time come for Appointed Sheriffs of Nottingham?
