Campaign signs and social media blitz launch effort to oust Benton County sheriff

The state’s high court gave the green light to an effort to recall Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher, but almost 14,000 signatures are needed before it can be put on a ballot for voters to decide.

Members of the “Committee to Recall Sheriff Hatcher” said Monday they will spend the coming week to finalize plans, and will go live with their petitions by Nov. 16.

That includes setting up signing stations throughout Benton County, placing petitions in select businesses and even going door-to-door while following social distancing requirements.

Organizers have six months to collect the signatures of registered Benton County voters before a special election could be held.

The time clock officially started Monday, the first business day after the Washington state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the recall petition can move forward on all eight charges.

The recall petition was filed in July by sheriff’s Sgt. Jason Erickson, who’s accused his boss of criminal misconduct, tampering with physical evidence, intimidation and retaliation.

The court only needed to determine “the factual and legal sufficiency of the alleged charges” for the effort to advance.

“In doing so, we assume the truth of the facts as the recall petitioner asserts them,” Chief Justice Debra Stephens wrote in the three-page order filed Friday.

It will be up to the voters, if approved for a ballot, to decide if those allegations are true and worthy of removing Hatcher from his elected position.

“We’re just going to collect the signatures in six months, give them the ballot and let the voters decide,” said Kathlen Wierschke, a West Richland resident heading up the committee. “Inevitably they’re the ones who voted him in, they’re the only ones who can get rid of him legally.”

Information about petition-signing locations eventually will be posted on the committee’s website, RecallSheriffJerryHatcher.com, and on social media platforms like Instagram at “recallsheriffhatcher” and on Twitter at “jerryrecall”.

The committee is comprised of citizens from the community, none of whom are sheriff’s office deputies or staff.

Wierschke told the Tri-City Herald they have been preparing for more than three months, including making yard signs that already have been posted around town. However, they had to wait for the final word from the Supreme Court as to what charges would go to the voters.

“In a normal election, (people vote) based on how people’s morals and values align with their candidates. However, we’re doing the opposite thing, whether he should stay in office based on his unethical behavior,” she said.

Wierschke said while the allegations against Hatcher may include actual crimes, the only people at this point who can decide his fate are the voters — not the county commissioners.

“The power is in the people. The Supreme Court and the Superior Court judge have said there is sufficient evidence, and so I think people need to realize that,” Wierschke said.

“There is evidence; we’re not just pulling allegations out of our hat,” she added. “There is enough evidence showing that these things happened and, whether or not it was illegal, his behavior is unethical. He should not be doing these things in office.”

Sheriff since 2017

Hatcher has 2 1/2 years left in his current four-year term. He has been the Benton County sheriff since May 2017 following the retirement of Steve Keane.

As an elected official, Hatcher can only be removed from office in a county election. He also can step down voluntarily before his term is up.

Hatcher told the Herald on Friday the ruling was disappointing and that he can prove all eight allegations are false. He said he did not get that chance in court hearings, particularly at the Supreme Court because the justices reviewed his appeal without taking testimony or oral arguments.

In this case important facts have purposely and unethically been left out of the allegations, said Hatcher.

The ballot synopsis was cleared in August by Judge M. Scott Wolfram with Walla Walla County Superior Court. Hatcher appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which led to Friday’s order.

While Erickson filed the petition, the committee formed shortly thereafter to support the efforts of the sheriff’s sergeant and his union, the Benton County Sheriff’s Deputy Guild.

Question for voters

The eight charges listed on the ballot synopsis are that Hatcher:

▪ Illegally appropriated for his own use 14 cases of ammunition belonging to Benton County.

▪ Illegally tampered with physical evidence by directing the distribution of ammunition that was potential evidence of his own alleged unlawful acts

▪ Interfered in an investigation into his conduct by acting to prevent witnesses from being interviewed.

▪ Violated county anti-discrimination policy by hindering an investigation into his conduct and retaliating against the complainant and witnesses to the investigation.

▪ Illegally intimidated public servants and witnesses in investigations into his conduct by raising false allegations of impropriety and threatening witnesses’ jobs.

▪ Illegally made false or misleading statements to law enforcement and the court regarding the number of firearms he needed to surrender pursuant to a court order.

▪ Illegally made false or misleading statements to public servants claiming that he had initiated a criminal investigation into his own conduct when he had not.

▪ Falsified a public record by placing a false date on an investigation request.

Voters then will be asked, “Should Jerry Hatcher be recalled from office based upon these charges?”

This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 2:20 PM.