Whatcom County Council considers a measure to make the sheriff an appointed office
Whatcom County will continue to have an elected sheriff for the immediate future after the County Council scuttled a request to consider making it an appointed position.
Councilman Todd Donovan submitted a resolution that could have led to a ballot initiative to amend the Whatcom County charter — its constitution — and make the sheriff a department head under the executive branch.
But Donovan’s proposal never made it to the discussion stage as the County Council rejected it for introduction Tuesday by a vote of 4-2-1, tabling the issue indefinitely.
“I believe strongly that we should have an elected sheriff. It’s not just tradition but it’s democracy,” council Chairman Barry Buchanan said during the meeting.
Donovan and Councilwoman Carol Frazey voted against tabling the measure and Councilwoman Kaylee Galloway abstained.
“I think it’s an important discussion to have as a government issue,” Donovan told The Bellingham Herald in a phone interview.
He said he wanted to start a conversation about the issue now, as Sheriff Bill Elfo is set to leave office, so that the “discussion would be about the office and not the person.”
But Elfo, who been sheriff for two decades, called it “political maneuvering to consolidate power and control” in an address to the council on Tuesday.
He expressed his gratitude for the vote in a phone interview with The Herald.
“I think it’s a vote of confidence not to me personally but to the men and women who are out there every day, doing their job,” he said.
As sheriff, Elfo oversees a department of 212 total positions and a 2023 budget of $21.6 million. That includes 95 law-enforcement officers and 78 corrections officers.
The Sheriff’s Office runs the Whatcom County Jail and the Division of Emergency Management. Sheriff’s deputies patrol all of the unincorporated parts of the county.
Elfo himself was appointed by the County Council in 2003 to replace Dale Brandland when Brandland was elected to the state Senate.
He has faced the voters five times since then, three times running unopposed and twice winning by wide margins.
Donovan said he supported Elfo’s run in 2019, when Elfo beat civic activist Joy Gilfilen, who was not a sworn law-enforcement officer.
He said it wasn’t about party, because county offices are nonpartisan, even though Donovan is a Democrat and Elfo is a Republican.
“There are sheriffs in Washington state who have said they wouldn’t enforce gun regulations. What if we get somebody like that?” Donovan told The Herald.
“Those are problems with an elected sheriff that we should talk about,” Donovan said.
That “constitutional sheriff” movement has grown in Washington state over the past several years, but Elfo never said he would not follow state law, even though he’s been a vocal critic of a series of state measures aimed at police reform.
An elected sheriff is the norm
Most U.S. cities have a police chief who is hired, usually by a mayor or city manager, and it sometimes requires the consent of a city council.
But in Whatcom County, and in most counties around the U.S., the sheriff is an elected position, along with the assessor, auditor, prosecuting attorney and treasurer.
Those officials can hire and train their own staff using county resources, but they must seek budget approval through the County Council.
Whatcom County has been electing those positions since voters adopted a “home rule charter” in 1978.
A Charter Review Commission is elected to study proposed changes every 10 years, and the next review is due in 2025.
Donovan said that a discussion could have been less contentious now, before a new sheriff is elected in November.
“When is the best time to have this discussion except right now? It’s an important discussion to have,” he told The Herald.
This story was originally published August 11, 2023 at 10:00 PM.
