Pierce County’s next sheriff likely to be one of these two well-known people
The race to become the next sheriff of Pierce County is shaping up to be between a candidate with decades of experience leading large government organizations against a man with decades of law enforcement experience.
Chairman of the Pierce County Council, Doug Richardson, declared his candidacy Monday.
Spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department, Ed Troyer, told The News Tribune he is strongly considering entering the race and has put together an exploratory committee.
The two have been longtime, central figures in Pierce County, and both were rumored to be running for some time.
Sheriff Paul Pastor announced in December his retirement, vacating the position before the end of the term. He has been Pierce County’s longest-serving sheriff with 19 years under his belt.
Pastor’s last day as head of the 800-person department is April 3.
Applicants for interim sheriff have turned in paperwork, and the County Council will appoint a candidate to lead the department until voters decide the successor.
In the search for Pastor’s interim until January 2021, Richardson has recused himself.
Doug Richardson
Richardson retired from the Army after 32 years with the rank of brigadier general. He later served as a Lakewood City Council member for the town’s first 17 years. Richardson left Lakewood as mayor in 2012 for the Pierce County Council’s District 6 seat.
He represents Lakewood, DuPont, Steilacoom, Parkland, Joint Base Lewis-McChord and Anderson and Ketron islands. His third and final term expires next year.
Richardson has no law enforcement experience but said he has been humbled by the amount of support he has received from those inside the Sheriff’s Department and other police agencies.
“Leading large organizations with a broad span of control, dealing with a budget, has put me in a good position to lead the agency supported by a good command staff,” Richardson said. ”I think I’m the right person for the job.”
Richardson said if elected his priorities would include deputy safety, changing recruitment policies and addressing the current 24 vacancies.
He is the chair of the South Sound 911 board of directors, a member of Pierce County’s public safety committee and on the law and justice council.
Ed Troyer
Troyer’s candidacy would lean heavily on his tenure at the department. He started his career with Pierce County Sheriff Department 35 years ago.
“I like Doug, but he doesn’t have any law enforcement experience. I’d keep all our people and build leadership from within,” Troyer told The News Tribune. “I’d like to start and finish my career with Pierce County, and the next logical step would be to run for the next sheriff of Pierce County.”
He has addressed the Pierce County Deputy Sheriff’s Independent Guild and put a group of people together to explore the option of running.
Troyer has served as executive director of CrimeStoppers for 17 years, been a commissioner with Washington State Gambling Commission for five years and coordinated the Pierce County Toys for Tots program for the past 12 years.
Asked why he did not seek to become interim sheriff for the six months between Pastor’s resignation and the new sheriff’s swearing in, Troyer said he didn’t think he could do a good enough job of running for sheriff while trying to run the department at the same time.
Troyer said if he were to file, he would consider retiring from the department to devote his time entirely to running for election.
This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 10:05 AM.
