Recall supporters had 180 days to get 45,000 signatures of registered voters.īy then, the timing could not have been worse.Įlection season was in full swing, absorbing the attention of experienced campaign strategists and politically active residents whose skills and energy could have benefited the committee. That delayed the launch of signature gathering until Sept. Allegations leveled by recall proponents intersected with those issues.īut four months of legal wrangling ensued over the precise content of recall petitions - culminating with a stop at the state Supreme Court. The attorneys filed their petition in May as the murder of George Floyd ignited a national conversation about police practices and calls for reforming and defunding law enforcement agencies. The timing could not have been better for the recall. “Although I did not ask for this fight, I will not shrink from it,” he said. Then a formal (political committee) was created.”įortney again took to Facebook to respond after a court ruled he could face recall for the April 21 post. “From there, a Facebook group was created. “The whole recall discussion started with a Twitter hashtag,” recalled McMahon in an email. Not long after Shavlik acted, four attorneys - Preshaw, public defender Colin McMahon, criminal defense attorney Samantha Sommerman and civil attorney Brittany Tri - launched a separate effort with additional allegations. Two days later, Lori Shavlik of Monroe filed a recall petition asserting that Fortney “used his position as an elected official to encourage citizens to defy the law and violate the Governor’s Emergency Proclamations.” She proceeded to circulate petitions, but her one-woman effort would end unsuccessfully in December. His post resonated with supporters and touched a nerve with detractors. Fortney, like many in the county, questioned its legality, and, like many in law enforcement, said he didn’t plan to enforce it. Jay Inslee’s issuance of a stay-home order that shuttered schools, businesses and churches in a bid to blunt the spread of coronavirus. Rather, he’s made his campaign Facebook page the medium. However, he didn’t - and still doesn’t - use the traditional vehicle of official news releases. And by the end of his first month on the job he had carried out signature, and controversial, decisions, chiefly the reinstatement of three deputies who had lost their jobs under his predecessor’s leadership.Īlso, Fortney didn’t shy away from publicly espousing views on hot-button issues. There were little things, like allowing officers to grow beards, and larger matters, like revising the vehicle pursuit policy. 1, he began delivering the change he promised. “I meant it when I said it on the campaign trail, I’m going take the handcuffs off police officers and put them on the criminals where they belong.” “I’m just excited for a different path for Snohomish County,” he said in an election night interview. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”įortney, a 25-year department veteran, unseated incumbent Sheriff Ty Trenary in November 2019, in surprisingly easy fashion. Unless he has learned some important lessons from this recall experience it is likely that he will do something else that could trigger another recall. “We have demonstrated to Fortney that his words and actions have consequences and that he has our attention. “This is not the victory he thinks it is,” Preshaw said. “I will not be deterred from my plan for public safety in Snohomish County and I simply cannot wait to press on in 2021 and beyond!”Įngineers of the recall are not dissuaded by the setback. This is a huge step in that direction,” he wrote. “When I ran in 2019 I told everyone I would keep the Seattle politics out of public safety in Snohomish County.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |