Vote Yes on King County Charter Amendment No. 1 for Increased Oversight of the Sheriff's Department

In need of more civilian oversight. King County

King County is threatened by thuggish armed gangs seeking to enrich themselves and operate with impunity: friggin’ police unions. Charter Amendment No. 1 gives you the chance to strike a blow against that impunity by voting for expanded civilian oversight of the King County Sheriff’s department. The county’s Office of Law Enforcement Oversight needs to be empowered to investigate misconduct, says King County Council member Larry Phillips, because “the police guild has made it very difficult for anybody at King County to get anything done.” (Brace yourselves for a choice cop joke.) This amendment, if passed, lets the county’s labor negotiators say to the guild that represents sheriff’s deputies: “Hey. Put down the doughnuts for a second. The public is with us. Stop holding up progress.” (Bet you didn’t see a doughnut joke coming, huh? HA HA. HA! Doughnuts.) The amendment would also create a committee of civilians to advise the sheriff and county council on matters of “equity and social justice” related to policing. If you agree that #BlackLivesMatter—and fuck you if you don’t—you’ll join Sheriff John Urquhart and eight of the nine county council members in supporting this charter amendment.