WA-GOV: Washington Gov. Candidate (R) Touts Endorsement From Sheriff Who Said 'Ex-Wives Should Be Killed'

[RandySF]

DAVE REICHERT, WHO previously served as a congressman and Sheriff of King County, Washington, is now running for governor of the state on the sort of tough-on-crime platform that has become all but mandatory for Republican candidates. His campaign website warns that Washington state is currently “a haven for crime, drugs, homelessness, human trafficking, and other serious problems,” and that “domestic violence continues to rise.” His proposed solution? More cops on the streets, of course.

That position has earned Reichert the support of many law enforcement leaders as he strives to become Washington’s first GOP governor since 1985. Among them is John Nowels, Spokane County Sheriff, who appeared in a campaign video of sheriffs from around the state explaining why they back Reichert. “He’s come from us,” Nowels says in his segment, about a half-minute into the ad. “He’s come from people who work, who just had to rely on their ethics and their morals to get where they are, and to just put their nose to the grindstone, working. Dave’s done it.”

But five years ago, when he was a Spokane County undersheriff, Nowels made shocking comments about the kind of domestic violence that Reichert decries on his website — suggesting that “ex-wives should be killed.” In July 2019, during a phone conversation with a Spokane Valley Precinct assistant, he spoke about a deputy unable to work because his ex-wife, amid a contentious custody battle, had filed a domestic violence protection order against him, according to the Spokesman-Review.

Evidently annoyed at how slowly an investigation into the matter was proceeding, Nowels said of the deputy’s ex-wife, “you know, somebody should just kill her,” per the precinct assistant’s notes on the call. Nowels further expressed the opinion that all ex-wives do is “cause trouble,” according to an Internal Affairs investigation that ultimately saw the undersheriff suspended without pay for a month.



https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/dave-reichert-governor-endorsement-sheriff-ex-wives-1234997995/

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. It took him about 20 years to solve the Green River serial murders

I'm less than impressed at Reichart's law and order prowess.

[flying_wahini]

2. I hope he loses very badly.

[IzzaNuDay]

3. Reichert was a political one trick pony

Finding the Green River Killer was Reichert’s claim to fame. But he wasn’t the most effective legislator in the US House of Representatives.

[Caliman73]

4. Journalists or the opponent to the candidate need to ask Reichert if he accepts support from someone with those opinions

I have an ex wife. Our separation and divorce was not the best. We have limited communication because we have moved on from that relationship. I do not and have not ever thought that any harm should come to my ex. She is the mother of my son and has a relationship with him that he values. On that reason alone, I would never want him to suffer any loss that would hurt him. My relationship with my ex is something I need to deal with. For someone to say something like what Nowels said, speaks to a bigger problem than just saying something stupid. It shows an attitude about relationships and dealing with adversity. For Nowels, based on that statement, it shows that for him, a solution to interpersonal problems is violence. Violence is okay to deal with issues that should be solved with understanding and diplomacy. By accepting the endorsement, Reichert would be signaling that he is okay with that approach.

[GenThePerservering]

5. This guy keeps hanging around like a smelly fart

John Spellman (WA state's last repub governor) was a far cry from the garbage candidates the GOP fields today.