The County Sheriff

Whatcom County...
Uncovered! Updated 02-16-09
Defending truth, justice, and the American way.
local information...not likely to be found elsewhere.

(best viewed 1024x768)

The County Sheriff

Wanted:
---Whatcom County...Uncovered is looking for persons with some free time that would be willing to download the Whatcom County public records request forms, then submit the completed requests for public documents for research use.
Currently needed:
    1: Whatcom County Law and Justice Council membership list (all 49 members)
    2: 2007 and 2008 Whatcom County wages and salaries (broken down by department, all departments)
    3: 2007 and 2008 Whatcom County employees (all departments)
    4: PSE-Whatcom contract for Baker Lake area.
    5: All executive orders for 2006, 2007 and 2008
    6: Whatcom County Ethics Committee membership and investigative criteria.

---Whatcom County...Uncovered is looking for people who would like to write regular editorials on issues of importance to the citizens of Whatcom County. Contact admin@whatcomuncovered.com for more information.

The Office of County Sheriff
(updated 11-29-08)
The United States has 3141 counties. It may surprise you to learn that a county sheriff is the only elected law enforcement officer in the United States. This was intentional and by design. A county sheriff's deputies are an extension of the authority of that office and take the same oath to "uphold and defend the constitution" and enforce the laws of the land as the sheriff. The county sheriff is the "chief executive officer" of a Washington State county, per RCW 36.28.010, as in most states. The Sheriff is also the "chief law enforcement officer" of a Washington State county, per RCW 43.43.970.

Contrast this with municipalities that "appoint" a chief of police to administrate a city police department and serve the city mayor at will. Whatcom County government types like to refer to our Sheriff's agency as a "department", implying control, appointment, and subordination to the county executive. This, however, is not the case. The Sheriff is an elected official, elected by the people in the same manner, making the Sheriff at the very least on par with the county executive. This is why that law enforcement agency is referred to as an "Office", not a "department", as some would have you believe.

It's Whatcom County...Uncovered's opinion that a breach of constitutional law occurred in the enacting of our "Home Rule Charter". The people of Whatcom County were sold a bill of goods in this "rule", as in monarchy, when it was voted into effect. Had the issue been honestly and openly discussed in the media, with ALL of the pro's and con's on the table, it's doubtful that Whatcom County's residents would have voted for it. Were it to be fully understood, the county's citizens would vote for an amendment placing the Sheriff's Office directly accountable to the County Council for all matters of funding and infrastructure, not subordinate to the county executive as is currently chartered.

It's also Whatcom County...Uncovered's opinion that this charter was specifically designed and drafted to disempower the Office of Sheriff by removing control of human resources, finances, communications, information technology, equipment and other necessary resources from the elected sheriff, by placing all of the above under control of an "executive", who knows nothing of law enforcement. Not only is this not in the best interest of the citizens of this county, for a variety of reasons that are ultimately reflected in your elected sheriff's capabilities, but it also defeats the needed system of checks and balances of a competing "dual sovereignty" design drafted into the U.S. Constitution.

Don't believe it? Read Whatcom County's Home Rule Charter for yourself, specifically section 1.5  Whatcom County Government website. The Home Rule Charter.
It's wonderfully delivered and very appealing to the eye, but please note one very conspicuous absence. There are only 2 branches listed in this deviant charter, the Executive and the Legislative. Where did the Judicial branch go? There isn't one mentioned! In recent organizational charts, a "judicial branch" is depicted, but it's not specified in the actual charter.

The courts and the sheriff's office were effectively placed under de facto control of the executive by this charter. Anyone with any business savvy knows the old axiom that "he who control the money" essentially directs the effectiveness of that organization and often exerts outright control of it through select hiring and firing of personnel, manipulation of other subordinate county functions and infrastructure needs. Fairness and impartiality dictate that it is crucially important that law enforcement and the courts not be in any way beholden to anyone but the people, as represented by our county council. In the current arrangement, conflicts of interest abound.

Whatcom County's Sheriff, Bill Elfo, recently noted that the appointment "system" was recently overwhelmingly overturned by the voters in both King and Pierce Counties, in favor of the elected sheriff system. Yup, they tried it and it was a failure, so they returned to the elected sheriff system. In doing so, those voters affirmed the need for political checks and balances and that they are an essential element of our constitutional form of government.

So how did a civilian, with no constitutional authority, get elected to oversee an elected sheriff with constitutional authority? Apparently it was all in the salesmanship and packaging, allegedly for "efficiency". Whatcom County...Uncovered believes that the Home Rule Charter only makes sense for one reason. If one wanted to rein in the constitutional authority of the office of sheriff, in so doing limiting that official's effectiveness, you'd do it by schmoozing the people into believing that it's "more efficient", a "good idea", or "for the children"..... That's how you would do it. It also conveniently eliminates the Sheriff's rightful constitutional role from the equation.

Stay tuned. Whatcom County...Uncovered intends to address a variety of financial shenanigan's that routinely take place, with your tax dollars, in this "Home Rule Charter" business.