By Sean Robinson
It’s official: Pierce County Councilman Doug Richardson is running for sheriff.
Richardson, 65, said he intended to formally announce his candidacy on social media this week, following through on a plan he’s been considering for months.
“I really believe that I can provide leadership in the department in these challenging times,” he said.
He knows his candidacy is unorthodox; he has no law enforcement experience. He’s a retired Army Reserve Brigadier General, a former mayor of Lakewood and he’s spent the past eight years on the county council, but he’s never been a cop. Typically, county sheriffs are commissioned officers.
State law includes provisions for civilian sheriffs. They must undergo at least 80 hours of law enforcement training approved by the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission.
Richardson said he’s taken a close look at those requirements.
“There is a path toward running for sheriff and being certified,” he said. “There is a clear path to that.”
He added that he’s spoken with local and regional law enforcement leaders in and out of the county about his plans, and received encouragement, though he declined to name names before his formal announcement.
“I’m kind of humbled by the reaction of their significant support for me doing it,” he said.
Richardson’s county council stint, including the last few years as chairman, has given him a fine-grained look at the agency’s budget, largest of any county department. The 800-member sheriff’s department handles law enforcement and operates the county jail.
If elected, Richardson said he would focus on three areas: Deputy safety, incident response times, and recruiting in “this difficult climate.” He noted the department currently has 24 vacancies, and pending retirements will increase that number.
“We need very aggressive recruiting, and we also need to see whether or not we’re injuring ourselves on who can be recruited,” he said. “I am very committed also to improving training and doing everything we can to improve safety for our deputies, and really making sure residents are getting the kind of response they want to see out of the department.”
Technically, sheriff is a nonpartisan position, but partisan alliances could play a role in the campaign. Richardson, a Republican, would potentially draw support from Pierce County Republican leaders and organizations.
Richardson’s likeliest opponent, Detective Ed Troyer, hasn’t made the decision to run yet. Asked this week about his plans, Troyer said he is still gathering information and consulting with a group of “kitchen table” advisors.
Troyer, longtime spokesman for Sheriff Paul Pastor, has spent 35 years in the sheriff’s office, 10 as a patrol deputy. He said he hopes to build on the foundation created by Pastor, and continue to develop future leaders within the department.
“I have nothing bad to say about Doug Richardson,” Troyer said. “I hear he was a great mayor and a great councilman. I just don’t understand why he thinks with no law enforcement experience, that he can lead an agency of 800 people.”
The jockeying for Pastor’s position began last year, when he announced he did not intend to seek re-election, and would retire this spring, after 19 years on the job.
That moment is approaching swiftly; last week, county council members formed an ad-hoc committee to review applications for Pastor’s soon-to-be-vacant position. Committee members will weigh the merits of each candidate in closed executive sessions. The successful applicant will serve as interim sheriff until a new sheriff is elected.
Applicants include members of Pastor’s current command staff, but not Troyer. Richardson didn’t apply either, and he’s recused himself from the committee’s deliberations.