Keith Swank has won the election for Pierce County sheriff, an upset over a decades-long veteran of the department favored by the county’s political establishment, and a chance for Swank to remake the department’s leadership.
The results of the election will not be certified by the county auditor until Nov. 26, but Swank had 50.89 percent of the votes on Friday, and Patrol Chief Patti Jackson would need more than 82 percent of the 10,000 ballots left to be counted to overtake him. She has captured 48.73 percent of votes.
Swank, 56, retired from the Seattle Police Department in June last year as a captain after 33 years on the force. Reached by phone Friday, Swank said he believed the outcome showed that voters wanted change and safety. He said the public would see how “terribly” Sheriff Ed Troyer had behaved during the election and that they would realize that they hadn’t had a good sheriff the past four years. He said he would bring honesty, integrity and real leadership to the department.