CASCADIADAILY Headline features opinion by State Senator that infers that only one person for Sheriff can represent the Senator’s views on the justice system and this project.
Guest-writer Tawsha Thompson writes about the Senator’s voting record in response:
Tawsha Thompson
This article infuriates me so many reasons but I will articulate my top 2:
Tawsha Thompson:
1. The bipartisan Yes Jail committee has worked very collaboratively to help pass this important and needed proposition. Within our committee we have recognized that we may have differing opinions on who the best candidate for the important position of Sheriff is, but we have stayed focused on our goal and not allowed partisan politics to derail that. This article written by Senator Shewmake completely undermines everything we have been working toward by inserting political games where they do not belong.
2: That being said, I am not at all surprised by Senator Shewmake biased assertion. She has spent her entire political career derailing law enforcement and undermining public safety. But don’t take my word for it, look at her voting record, in particular her vote in support of HB 1310 and HB 1054 (editor’s note Police Pursuit and Probable Cause) supported by the Senator in Olympia. These bills completely undermined Law Enforcement authority and created more harm in our communities. Harm, from which, we are still trying to recover.
Thank you Charlie and Ms. Thompson for your pertinent information. The county has needed a new jail for many years. As a real estate broker I experienced first hand the consequences in Skagit County when they needed but didn’t have a new jail. People that had repeatedly broken in to a listing in Mt. Vernon I had were caught when I came by and called the police. Two of the 3 inside were caught. There had been weapons ( knives, machetes, pistol, loaded assault style shotgun ), drug paraphernalia, clearly stolen property (literally over a ton), and much home damage when I started the listing, and three 5 gallon barrels under the stairs filled with human urine! The man caught a weapon on him, and one had a bag of pot; plus I witnessed the woman cursing, struggling and resisting arrest. The police said they were taking them to jail. Instead, less than 10 minutes later I saw them walk away. When I protested to one of the cops he said they had no choice. When he called the jail he was told that unless it was for rape, murder, violent assault or something very serious ( I believe this case was) the jail would not accept them due to overcrowding, and they had to be released! This might be happening in out jail too. Not providing enough space just means criminals get let go to continue their criminal career; a new jail is critical. If the photo is of conditions at our jail, there appears to be at least 14 bunks in one medium sized room, is that even legal? The “woke” B.S. needs to end. Ditto on not letting police pursue those speeding away when there is cause to believe they have committed a crime. On the 11:00 news I have seen on multiple occasions reports that cops could not pursue because of that idiotic law. No wonder communities in our state are in a state of decay.