John Urquhart takes office as King County sheriff
December 4, 2012
John Urquhart
John Urquhart assumed office as King County sheriff Nov. 28, months after retiring as the agency’s longtime spokesman.
Urquhart, a former sheriff’s office sergeant, defeated the incumbent sheriff, Steve Strachan, 56 percent to 43 percent, in the Nov. 5 election after a contentious campaign.
Strachan, a former Kent police chief, and Urquhart debated how to lead the sheriff’s office after a series of audits lambasted how the agency operates.
The sheriff oversees a budget of about $150 million and about 1,000 employees, and leads the largest local police organization in the state after the Seattle Police Department.
Urquhart won election to fill the remaining year in former Sheriff Sue Rahr’s unexpired term, and is due to face voters again next year.
Legislation to aid law enforcement proposed on shootings’ anniversary
November 29, 2012
NEW — 4 p.m. Nov. 29, 2012
U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert introduced legislation Thursday — three years to the day after a gunman killed four Lakewood police officers at a coffee shop — to improve information sharing among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Auburn Republican, joined another Washington lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, to introduce the Department of Justice Global Advisory Committee Authorization Act.
Investigators determined the killer in the Lakewood shootings, Maurice Clemmons, was a convicted felon on parole and the relevant information was not effectively transmitted to proper authorities.
Police raid marijuana operation in downtown Issaquah home
November 28, 2012
NEW — 11:55 a.m. Nov. 28, 2012
Police discovered more than 150 marijuana plants during a raid on a downtown Issaquah home, and later arrested a 52-year-old man involved in the grow operation.
Officers surrounded a home in the 100 block of Northwest Dogwood Street at about 11:30 a.m. Nov. 20 to serve a search warrant. Police called for occupants to come outside and, after officers realized the home was empty, entered the building and discovered the plants.
Issaquah Police Cmdr. Scott Behrbaum said charges have not been filed against the man arrested in the incident. The investigation is ongoing.
Behrbaum said the grow operation was connected to a medical marijuana operation based in Seattle.
Proposition 1, fingerprint identification services levy, passes overwhelmingly
November 13, 2012
King County voters overwhelmingly approved a $118.9 million property tax levy to continue funding criminal fingerprint identification services for local law enforcement agencies, including the Issaquah Police Department.
Proposition 1 asked voters to keep the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, in operation through 2018.
The renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $20.72 per year for a $350,000 home.
Investigators use the AFIS database to match fingerprints and palmprints to criminal suspects. The system is managed by the King County Sheriff’s Office.
Issaquah officers used information from AFIS 2,100 times last year to determine if a jail inmate was evading a warrant, concealing a criminal record or using a false identity.
Dave Reichert wins another term in Congress
November 13, 2012
Dave Reichert
Redistricting ended almost a decade of close challenges for control in the 8th Congressional District, as voters re-elected Republican Dave Reichert by a comfortable margin after a campaign unlike other recent contests for the seat.
In a landslide, Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Auburn Republican, defeated Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Reichert held on amid vigorous challenges from Democrats in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, but redistricting last year reshaped the district. The state commission responsible for redrawing the political map snipped Eastside cities from the district and added Eastern Washington communities.
The result created a seat observers said is reliably Republican — and offered little suspense as Election Day came to a close. Reichert led by 18 points in the initial election night results and continued to hold a commanding lead.
Voters choose John Urquhart for King County sheriff
November 13, 2012
John Urquhart
John Urquhart is King County’s next top lawman.
Urquhart defeated the incumbent sheriff, Steve Strachan, 57 percent to 43 percent, after a contentious campaign.
Strachan, a former Kent police chief, and Urquhart, a former sheriff’s office sergeant and spokesman, locked horns about the agency’s future. The contest to lead the King County Sheriff’s Office hinged on a series of audits into how the agency operates.
The sheriff oversees a budget of about $150 million and about 1,000 employees, and leads the largest local police organization in the state after the Seattle Police Department.
Issaquah police plan no immediate changes after Initiative 502 legalizes marijuana
November 13, 2012
In a milestone, Initiative 502 legalized marijuana for recreational use among adults 21 and older in Washington.
In the days after the measure passed, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg dismissed 175 cases involving people 21 and older for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana.
The law outlined in I-502 is scheduled to take effect Dec. 6. Meanwhile, Washington Liquor Control Board officials must formulate rules to grow, sell, tax and regulate marijuana.
King County Council adopts 2013 budget without roads fee
November 13, 2012
NEW — 4 p.m. Nov. 13, 2012
King County Council members dropped a proposed $20 vehicle-license fee to fund road maintenance and, in a unanimous decision Tuesday, approved the 2013 budget without the fee.
In September, King County Executive Dow Constantine proposed a $20 fee to fund road maintenance and storm response in rural and unincorporated areas. The decision to drop the proposed fee affects residents in unincorporated King County communities, including Klahanie, Mirrormont, Preston and other areas outside Issaquah.
Rather than creating a transportation benefit district in unincorporated King County, officials plan to lobby the Legislature for a comprehensive state transportation package to address road maintenance.
King County voters renew levy for police fingerprint services
November 8, 2012
NEW — 5 p.m. Nov. 8, 2012
King County voters overwhelmingly approved a $118.9 million property tax levy to continue funding criminal fingerprint identification services for local law enforcement agencies, including the Issaquah Police Department.
Proposition 1 asked voters to keep the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, or AFIS, in operation through 2018. The system provides criminal fingerprint identification services to the King County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies.
The proposed renewal levy rate is 5.92 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or about $20.72 per year for a $350,000 home.
Issaquah officers used information from AFIS 2,100 times last year to determine if a jail inmate was evading a warrant, concealing a criminal record or using a false identity.
Investigators use the AFIS database to match fingerprints and palmprints to criminal suspects. The system is managed by the sheriff’s office.
Dave Reichert outpaces Karen Porterfield to represent Issaquah in Congress
November 6, 2012
Karen Porterfield
Dave Reichert
UPDATED — 11:10 p.m. Nov. 6, 2012
Dave Reichert is poised to return to Washington, D.C., to represent Issaquah and the 8th Congressional District.
Reichert, a former King County sheriff and Auburn Republican, faced Issaquah Democrat Karen Porterfield, a nonprofit professional and adjunct instructor at Seattle University.
Reichert led, 59 percent to 41 percent, in the initial results released Tuesday night.
The district stretches from Auburn to Issaquah, and then across the Cascades to Ellensburg and Wenatchee.
“We toured cities from Eatonville to Chelan, and I heard the same thing, ‘We’ve got to get the economy moving again,’” Reichert said at the GOP election night celebration in Bellevue. “I’m in a good position to do that in the Ways & Means Committee.”
