PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — Voters in Pierce County will soon decide who they want to be their next sheriff.
Current Sheriff Ed Troyer is not seeking reelection. After a close primary race in August, Keith Swank and Patti Jackson are moving on to the November general election.
Swank spent more than 30 years with the Seattle Police Department in several roles, including working as a captain who oversaw units like the SWAT team. Swank said his priorities are addressing the morale of the agency, dealing with violent juvenile crime, and addressing quality of life issues like graffiti and drug use.
Jackson has been with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department for 35 years, working primarily in corrections and for the past nine years has been the chief of patrol. Jackson says her top three priorities are rebuilding public trust, being tough on crime, and bringing the right people into the department.
Both candidates addressed juvenile crime in interviews with KING 5. Jackson called juvenile crime a “horrific challenge” and said state laws and policies need to be changed to allow the department to do more.
“There is no ability to hold people accountable based on some of the current legislative laws and rules that are out there. We're unable to even be able to engage in conversations with the juveniles, which we used to be able to do, which sometimes forges that relationship, that helps us not only solve crimes, but also helps us turn some of the youth around,” said Jackson.
Swank said young people committing violent crimes need to be held accountable.
“Juvenile violent crime is out of control and we're going to get a handle on that,” said Swank. “That means working with the prosecutor's office, working with the judges, so that when we have violent people, that we actually hold them in custody instead of releasing them back out onto the streets to commit more violent crime.”
Last year in Pierce County, the medical examiner said that there were around 300 deaths from fentanyl overdoses. KING 5 asked the candidates what they thought is the best way to approach the opioid crisis.
“It needs to be a multi-prong approach, but the sheriff's office can do this: I-5 is a major thoroughfare for drug cartels. So, we need to work with other agencies throughout the state, maybe even other states, with our federal partners, and target the cartels who are bringing the illicit drugs up our I-5 corridor and go after them,” said Swank.
“One of the things that you need to do to address a crisis is to really go after the individuals who are bringing and introducing those drugs to our communities. It's nothing new, right? It's stuff, though, that that people have been able to get away with,” said Jackson.
We asked the candidates what they would do differently than past sheriffs.
“I really listen, I don't tell people what they need, I listen to what they need," said Jackson. "For example, one of the things that across the board has been said, is that we want somebody that really cares. That doesn't mean that other sheriffs have not cared, but it means that maybe the way that they were demonstrating that caring wasn't resonating with the people.”
“You need to have people that are leaders of the agency that have actually worked on the streets, worked as a supervisor, hired people, fired people, as an officer been on the street, dealt with all kinds of incidents, anything that you can think of that they've handled,” said Swank. “That gives them the wisdom and the ability to do the right thing and make the right decisions.”
Swank said if he were to become sheriff he would have Cyndie Fajardo as his undersheriff. Fajardo currently works for the department and lost in the primary election for sheriff this year, getting the third highest number of votes. She also lost in the general election to current sheriff Ed Troyer in 2020.
Jackson said she has given thought to who her undersheriff could end up being, if elected. She noted that she will ensure everybody on the command staff knows her expectations and direction that she wants to move towards, and said it is their choice whether or not they will be held accountable to that.