Where WA voters landed on criminal justice in the primary election

Election Updates

WA Attorney General

Former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown (D) and Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano (R) are headed to the November general election for Washington Attorney General. State Sen. Manka Dhingra (D), a former King County prosecutor who until last month told voters otherwise, finished a distant third, despite dropping $250K of her own money into her campaign shortly before election day.

Although Serrano led Brown in the primary with about 42% of the vote to Brown’s 35% as of Wednesday, Brown got more than 250,000 votes in King County and, since besting Dhingra, picked up the endorsements of U.S. Senator Patty Murray, outgoing state Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig (D), as well as current attorney general and leading candidate for governor Bob Ferguson (D). Brown has also outraised Serrano by more than $1 million so far.Meanwhile, Serrano is known for being the director and general counsel at the Silent Majority Foundation, which has brought numerous failed lawsuits over vaccine mandates, challenged gun laws like the high-capacity magazine ban and advocates generally against “government overreach.” 

Laurel Demkovich at The Washington State Standard notes how some voters may have the potential of a second Trump presidency on their minds due to Ferguson’s track record for suing the former commander-in-chief’s administration close to 100 times. Serrano has criticized Ferguson for doing so.

Pierce County Sheriff

The race to lead one of the largest police agencies in the Northwest remains very tight.

Former Seattle police captain Keith Swank, the clear crowd favorite at the GOP forum I went to in June, came out on top with just over a quarter of the vote as of Wednesday. The Pierce County establishment favorite, Chief of Patrol Patti Jackson, finished less than a point behind Swank, leaving Det. Lt. Cyndie Fajardo on the outside looking in again at a hair over 22%.

It’s not surprising that Swank is gaining more traction as a candidate for sheriff than Congress, especially since he talks about policing a lot like the guy he’s running to replace.

Here’s some more of what he told a graying crowd at the Tacoma Sportsmen’s Club outside Puyallup:On Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban and enforcing gun laws:Some intruders, we won't be able to get there to help you out. You need to be able to defend yourself, and I will stand up for your right to do that. And I would tell my deputies, we will not enforce unconstitutional laws in this county.

On dealing with politicians:Actually, I'm looking forward to working with the Pierce County Council and the executive because I spent many years working with the city council in Seattle who hated police. And they love the police down here, and I will have a great relationship. 

On dealing with the media:We build relationships with the media so that when we are truthful and harsh with them, they understand that and they come to us so they don't put out hit pieces on us. 

WA Supreme Court Position 2

The top two finishers to replace longtime Washington Justice Susan Owens—the seventh-ever woman elected to the state’s high court—are attorney Sal Mungia and Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Dave Larson. Mungia heads to the general election with way more campaign cash than Larson and a huge list of endorsements, from every current state justice, including Owens, to the last three governors.

Other Races and Measures 

Finalists for Superior Court judge in: Kittitas County, Pierce County, Spokane County, Whitman County.

Voters in the city of Des Moines rejected a property tax increase to fund four new patrol officers and a community service officer; retain four positions funded by ARPA stimulus; and be able to pay to put more people in the deadly SCORE Jail.

Meanwhile, voters in the cities of Snoqualmie and Gig Harbor approved sales tax increases to pay for police staffing and other department expenses.

In the November general election, the city of Spokane is running a sales tax increase to help cover its budget deficit and pay for more officers, equipment, fire stations, etc.

Oregon and Idaho, I promise I’ll be up to speed to cover your primaries next May 😵‍💫

The Weekly News Links

Send me links: jared@pnwjusticejournal.org.

Policing

• OR lawmakers say they didn’t know about new backlog of untested rape kits – Oregonian
• King County WA sheriff has new drug crime emphasis on transit, Third Ave. – Seattle Times
• Passenger in car chased by WA troopers for unknown reason dies in crash – Seattle Times
• Seattle cop who struck and killed student is challenging his traffic ticket – PubliCola
• WA has several K-9s that can detect fentanyl and is training more – Washington State Standard

Politicking

• Experts say Seattle’s proposed anti-prostitution law would be harmful, ineffective – PubliCola
• Multnomah County OR ‘deflection’ center can operate, despite architect’s claims – Oregonian
• Spokane Council delays vote to make homelessness a protected class – Spokesman-Review
• People in crisis have nowhere to go in parts of Pierce County WA – The News Tribune

Lawyering

• WA health department sues over entry to Tacoma ICE facility – Washington State Standard
• Eight months after a man was killed in Idaho jail, still no charges – Idaho Statesman
• Woman killed in southwest WA murder-suicide despite DV protection order – The Columbian
• Rural WA county launches therapy court for mental health, substance abuse – Wenatchee World
• The DA says he’s innocent. He might spend life in prison anyway – New York Times 

Incarcerating

• WA prisoners often isolated, despite efforts to cut solitary – Washington State Standard
• OR woman released from prison 21 months late after state corrections ‘screwed up' – Oregon Capital Chronicle
• Former OR youth prisoner accuses ex-employees of sexual misconduct – Oregonian
• Research roundup: 1 night in jail causes long-lasting harms – Prison Policy Initiative
• Drag transformed him after prison. It also made him a target. – Houston Chronicle
• How health care companies can endanger patients in jail – The Marshall Project

Safety & Well-Being

• Idaho set to train 250 sexual assault nurse examiners by year’s end – Idaho Capital Sun
• Sending homeless people to McNeil Island is a stupid idea – Washington State Standard
• Gun deaths fell in 2023, except among kids – The Trace
• Evidence age requirements and storage laws reduce gun violence – RAND Corporation
• What happens when everyone decides they need a gun? – Vox

Data & Tech

• WA HOA installs AI license plate reader cameras to deter crime – The News Tribune
• 2 more small-town WA departments getting license plate cameras – The News Tribune
• Inside the Texas crime lab that’s cracked hundreds of cold cases – Texas Tribune

National Headlines

• Ohio officer is charged with murder in shooting of pregnant Black motorist – NBC News
• An ex-Kansas police chief charged with obstruction of justice after newspaper raid – The Intercept
• Journalist arrested on hate crime charges after documenting pro-Palestine vandalism – Associated Press
• 10 years after Michael Brown’s death in Ferguson, what’s changed? – The Washington Post
• Texas Ranger reinstated, not fired, after Uvalde school shooting failure – Austin-American Statesman
• Phoenix police union says officers may quit unless city fights DOJ oversight – KJZZ

Fun(ner) Stuff

Check out some cool student art from a contest at Grays Harbor County Juvenile Court. I’m partial to the sixth-place finisher, A Piece of Peace, because I swear that looks like how my head feels sometimes.

The Fifth Branch, a new podcast from Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project, looks at alternative crisis response programs and one community’s effort to usher in change.

As always, thanks for reading, and I will talk to you next week. Please let me know what you think of the newsletter so far and if you have any suggestions!

-Jared from the PNW Justice Journal