County: Cities shouldn't vote for sheriff

Paul Pastor, a good man and competent Pierce County sheriff, has announced his intention to seek re-election. The sheriff’s position, jurisdiction and election process is flawed and should be corrected.

The sheriff is the law enforcement officer in the unincorporated areas of the county and custodian of the county jail. Each city has its own law enforcement jurisdiction. Yet the sheriff is elected by the citizens of the county, including those citizens residing in each of the separate cities.

The situation is undemocratic and unfair. Only residents of the unincorporated areas should elect the sheriff as only residents of cities elect their own city officials.

Why should residents of Tacoma elect the sheriff? This idiosyncrasy should be corrected.

This story was originally published January 14, 2016 at 1:05 PM with the headline "County: Cities shouldn't vote for sheriff."