Help us improve in just 2 minutes—share your thoughts in our reader survey.
Adam Fortney recall, Snohomish County, Washington (2020-2021)
| Snohomish County Sheriff recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Washington Washington recall laws Sheriff recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Adam Fortney from his position as sheriff of Snohomish County, Washington, did not go to a vote. Recall supporters did not submit any signatures by the deadline on March 9, 2021.[1] Recall supporters submitted another petition after the prior one failed to collect enough signatures, but it was rejected by a court ruling. The Washington Supreme Court upheld that ruling in a unanimous opinion released on February 10, 2022.[2]
The effort began after Fortney announced on Facebook in April 2020 that his office would not enforce restrictions Gov. Jay Inslee (D) set in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The recall petition said that Fortney had "endangered the peace and safety of the community and violated his statutory duties."[3][4]
Fortney filed an appeal against the petition with the Washington Supreme Court on June 22, 2020.[5][6] On September 10, 2020, the court ruled against one charge listed on the recall petition but allowed it to circulate with the other three charges.[7][4] Recall supporters had to collect 44,494 signatures in six months to get the recall on the ballot.[3][4]
Another recall effort against Fortney did not go to a vote in 2020. That recall petition said that Fortney "used his position as an elected official to encourage citizens to defy the law and violate the Governor’s Emergency Proclamations."[8][9] Recall supporters did not meet the December 1, 2020, deadline to submit signatures.[10]
In response to the recall efforts, Fortney said he stood by his statement that the sheriff's department "will not be enforcing an order preventing religious freedoms or constitutional rights."[3] Fortney was elected sheriff on November 5, 2019, with 55% of the vote.[11]
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The first recall petition against Fortney was filed by Lori Shavlik, a resident of Monroe, Washington. The petition said that Fortney "used his position as an elected official to encourage citizens to defy the law and violate the Governor’s Emergency Proclamations."[3]
The second petition was filed by a group of four lawyers.[3] In that petition, recall supporters said that Fortney "endangered the peace and safety of the community and violated his statutory duties...by inciting the public to violate Governor Inslee's 'Stay Home—State Healthy' proclamation...and....exercised discretion in a manifestly unreasonable manner by rehiring three deputy sheriffs previously discharged following investigation and findings of misconduct."[4]
Recall opponents
In response to the recall efforts, Fortney said, "although I did not ask for this fight, I will not shrink from it." He also said, "I stand by my statement that the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office is not going to arrest people for a gross misdemeanor when they pray, go to church or express their views under the First Amendment."[3]
Fortney said he would start a campaign "to protect the Sheriff’s Office from political assault."[3]
The Snohomish County Deputy Sheriff’s Executive Board published a letter in support of Fortney and against the recall effort on April 13, 2020. The letter said, "We vehemently oppose the recall effort."[3]
Path to the ballot
The Washington Constitution allows for the recall of elected officials if they violate their oath of office or "in commission of some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office." Cowlitz County Judge Stephen Warning approved the first recall petition for circulation on May 15, 2020, saying:[8]
| “ | The sheriff’s oath of office requires him to uphold the Constitution and laws of the state, and certainly the statements that are at issue here could be read and heard to say, 'I will not enforce a law that I disagree with, or that I think runs afoul of the Constitution.'[12] | ” |
| —Cowlitz County Judge Stephen Warning (May 15, 2020)[8] | ||
The hearing on the recall petition was moved out of Snohomish County in order to avoid any conflict of interest.[3] Lori Shavlik, a petitioner for the first recall effort, asked the judge to allow for online petitions due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Judge Warning refused the request. He said it was up to the Washington State Legislature to change recall laws.[3] Recall supporters had six months to collect signatures but were unable to do so by the December 1, 2020, deadline.[9][10]
The second recall petition was approved for circulation by San Juan County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Loring. Fortney filed a motion for the judge to reconsider the motion approving the petition, but the motion was rejected on June 12, 2020.[5] Fortney appealed to the Washington Supreme Court on June 22, 2020.[6] On September 10, 2020, the court ruled against one charge listed on the recall petition but allowed it to circulate with the other three charges.[7] Supporters of the second petition had until March 9, 2021, to collect signatures.[13] They did not submit signatures by the deadline.[1]
On February 18, 2021, recall supporters requested a deadline extension of 90 days due to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell rejected the request on February 22, 2021, saying he did not have the power to grant it.[13]
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Related recalls
- Jerry Hatcher recall, Benton County, Washington (2020)
- John Snaza recall, Thurston County, Washington (2020)
See also
- Snohomish County, Washington
- Recall campaigns in Washington
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- County official recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Snohomish County Sheriff's Office
- Snohomish County Elections & Voter Registration
- Adam Fortney Defend Our Sheriff website
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lynwood Today, "Snohomish County Sheriff no longer faces a recall vote," March 10, 2021
- ↑ KIRO 7, "Justices reject 4th recall against Snohomish County sheriff," February 10, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Edmond News, "Snohomish County Sheriff faces recall campaign after judge says that signature gathering can begin," May 18, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Herald Net, "State Supreme Court clears way for 2nd Fortney recall bid," September 11, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 My Edmond News, "Judge rejects Snohomish County Sheriff’s motion to reconsider recall petition ruling," June 13, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Herald Net, "Fortney asks state high court to stop latest recall effort," June 23, 2020
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 My Edmond News, "State Supreme Court sets Sept. 10 as date to decide Fortney’s appeal of recall," July 5, 2020
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Union-Bulletin, "Local judge rules COVID-related sheriff's recall petition can proceed," May 20, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Herald Net, "Judge approves 2nd recall effort against Sheriff Fortney," June 2, 2020
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Herald Net, "Group behind sheriff recall fined for campaign violations," December 4, 2020
- ↑ Snohomish County Elections, "Summary Report: Snohomish County, 2019 General, Nov 05, 2019," accessed May 26, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Herald Net, "Auditor denies Fortney recall group the extra time it seeks," February 24, 2021
