Urquhart for King County Sheriff

Dan Hall October 24, 2012 at 02:41 pm

Obviously you have never work with John. He doesn't have any leadership ability and he single position of leadership ended with a sustained charge of not meeting performance standards of supervisor. He was transferred out. It is documented. Whoever wrote this is working for Urquhart's campaign (you can tell from the website promo) because 90% of the staff would not characterize John as respectful. He had a habit of calling the former Sheriff "Princess" behind her back, he marginalized women and targeted people he didn't like. The only thing that John Urquhart as Sheriff will do is create dissension and division. Not to mention his second in charge Anne Kirkpatrick...she has a personal judgement against her in which she was to pay Det. Jay Mehring $250,000 for damages resulting from her "outrage". The city of Spokane had to pay he and his attorney 1.6 million in total.
Urquhart for Sheriff is a BAD decision for King County!

Barbara Manley October 24, 2012 at 03:55 pm

Dan, you are correct in that I have never worked for or with John. However, I am a private citizen of King Co. and not a member of his campaign staff. I have known John for a long time and never known him to be anything but respectful and gracious. A few years ago there was an "issue" in our neighborhood and John was responsive, supportive and helpful to its resolution. I have never seen John "marginalize women" nor refer to even his opponent with anything besides respect. There has never been a sustained complaint against John in his 36 years of service. I noticed that the chief supporter of his opponent is Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney who was arrested for drunk driving in 2010, calling the arresting officer a Nazi and a liar. Perhaps the character of those supporting Strachan should be included in any comparison. Strachan is in over his head and is NOT what King County needs!

Barbara Manley October 24, 2012 at 04:58 pm

Anne Kirkpatrick's "outrage" was in firing Detective Jay Mehring, which later a jury felt was overreaction. Spokane Det. Jay Mehring, after being served with a restaining order five months into a messy divorce, told another Spokane Police Sgt. what he was going to do to his wife - "Jay said, ‘I’m going to burn that bitch and her house down to the ground… I have nothing to lose and a piece of paper isn’t going to stop me, either.’ " On the bottom of his wife's restraining order against him it says, "Ms. Mehring needs to be in a safe location when Mr. Mehring receives this notice" She feared for her life as well as the lives of their children. Mehring made the same charge in front of his wife, their children, and two other officers. Ms. Mehring later tried to recant her testimony, but the 911 recording and witness testimony disputed her later claims. The case later became the subject of "Behind the Blue Wall" which offers support for domestic violence victims of police officers who live in fear. Regardless of the jury's decision, I doubt many people would fault Ms. Kirkpatrick for her action.
Oh, and by the way.... your "whoever wrote this" comment is insulting. My name is clearly shown on ALL my postings and blogs. I am not a coward who hides my opinions behind an alias.

Barbara Manley October 26, 2012 at 03:42 pm

A member of the current command staff at the King Co. Sheriff's office recently sent John the following note. He has received many such messages in the past few months (name withheld by request): "Well...good luck. I have cast my ballot and those friends and family that always ask me who to vote for in these Sheriff's elections have, too. I think the one thing that resonates with me from everything you've said came down to, "Are you happy with the way things are now?" I, along with many others, am not. In all my years here, I have never seen morale so low, staffing so minimal and a Sheriff and his staff so disconnected from the realities of law enforcement in King County. Again, good luck."

Barbara Manley October 29, 2012 at 09:36 pm

Just in case anyone is still undecided, here is yet more proof that John Urquhart is who King County needs to head the Sheriff's Office:
Per PUBLICOLA @Seattle Met, 29 Oct 2012: In the King County Sheriff's race, PubliCola picks John Urquhart. John Urquhart, the longtime spokesman for former King County sheriffs Sue Rahr and Dave Reichert, is the clear choice against appointed Sheriff Steve Strachan, an anti-choice, anti-tax, pro-gun conservative. Strachan has been the target of two damning audits criticizing his office for its inconsistent internal investigations policies, and for losing or destroying important documents. (Strachan also held a fundraiser at a gun range, titled "Shootin' With the Sheriff," at a time when the Northwest and the nation were going through one of the worst years of gun violence in recent history.) Urquhart has vowed to reform sheriff's department policies in keeping with national best practices; has said he will return the department's internal investigations unit to full strength; and has the endorsement of numerous King County police reform advocates, including Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, City Council public safety committee chair Bruce Harrell, and former US attorney (and pot-legalization advocate) John McKay.

Lisa Baumann (Editor) October 29, 2012 at 10:49 pm

Let's try to practice some common courtesy here please.

Barbara Manley October 29, 2012 at 11:12 pm

Nancy - how typical of people of your ilk, not wanting to hear the facts and the truth. I have read several of your other posts and it is very, very sad that you continue to feel anyone would pay any attention to your skewed opinions. Perhaps you should just go away and leave the politics to the adults.

Lisa Baumann (Editor) October 29, 2012 at 11:24 pm

Can we, as a community, try to say things that are constructive please?

Nancy Cunningham October 29, 2012 at 11:37 pm

I appreciate constructive comments about a political candidate. But when you bring up personal issues about the candidates friends, associates, relatives, and quotes from unidentified people, it gets tiring. Take a look at the narrative attached to your tirade, Barbara. Relax, stick to the subject, comment on the candidates you support, and give other people a chance to weigh in...that's all I'm saying. Please?

Barbara Manley October 30, 2012 at 01:32 am

I never said that other people could not weigh in. If by "personal issues about candidate's friends, " etc. you mean my comment about people who support Stachan, that is a perfectly honest evaluation of the candidate himself. And I have every right to defute claims that I know to be absurd. You obviously don't know what you are talking about, my dear. "Narrative attached" to my "tirade"? Expressing facts about either candidate is not a triade, but a statement of facts. You are one of those people who only consider a comment to be constructive if it agrees with your own opinion. Again, how very sad. You need to take yourself elsewhere.

Ken James October 30, 2012 at 03:00 am

Barbara -- Do you realize that your "discussion" style is so objectionable and vile that you actually harm the people and issues you attempt to support? You react to every challenge with personal attacks which reflects very poorly on you and, by association, your causes. Please... tell us who you support for president and governor... be frank and direct as you extoll the virtues of your favorite candidates!

Caitlin Moran (Editor) October 30, 2012 at 04:08 am

To reiterate what has been said earlier, let's all please stay on topic and avoid personal attacks. This blog post is about the King County Sheriff's race. If the conversation continues to veer away from this topic, I will have to consider closing the comment stream. Thank you for your cooperation. —Caitlin Moran, Redmond Patch editor

Barbara Manley October 30, 2012 at 11:19 am

Ken - The truth is never objectionable nor vile and never harms anyone. What might appear as personal attacks are merely responses to the same! Pointing out the problems with any opponents' campaigns is not "attack" but "information." I have seen your postings on other peoples' posting, Ken, and so know that it is your usual tactic to cry "foul" whenever you cannot defute a FACT. Caitlin, I appreciate your concern, but feel that I have done nothing more than state information relative to the Sheriff's race and attempted to deflect personal attacks upon my postings.

Ron Olson October 30, 2012 at 02:20 pm

Only one person continues to use personal attacks of non-candidates, goes off topic, and continually abuses the opportunity to post. Delete her, not everybody....

Caitlin Moran (Editor) October 30, 2012 at 04:28 pm

Regardless of whom is to blame, it's apparent this discussion is not going to become valuable. I've decided to shut down the comment stream. Anyone with questions/concerns is welcome to contact me at Caitlin.Moran@patch.com