Chris Gregoire > Latest News

RE: Deceptive political ads

We are writing to express our collective outrage at the Republican Governors Association (RGA) for broadcasting misleading television ads that distort Governor Gregoire’s record and slander the hard work we do every day.

As law enforcement officers and prosecutors, we are on the front line of the effort to keep our communities safe. Governor Gregoire has worked across party lines and supported us every step of the way. She is the strongest ally we have ever had in the Governor’s mansion.

She successfully fought for prosecutors to be able to impose harsher penalties for sex crimes. Today, we collect every single sex offenders’ DNA for the state’s sex offender registry. She has also created special units to focus solely on prosecuting sex offenders who fail to register.

After a sex offender is lawfully released from prison and enters community supervision, they must register with local law enforcement officers. Governor Gregoire increased the punishments if they fail to register.

They must also adhere to a schedule of visits to their community corrections officers. If at any time a sex offender fails to adhere to this schedule, we issue a warrant and hunt them down with sweeps like Operation Crackdown, which Governor Gregoire started.

Operation Crackdown has led to the arrests of more than 400 criminals. In 2007, there were 741 convictions of sex offenders who failed to register. With our hard work and the governor’s strong support, our crime rate is at a 14-year low.

Thanks to Governor Gregoire, we are better able to proactively keep an eye on sex offenders. She worked with law enforcement officers to design and create a GPS system to monitor and track the worst sex offenders. She also provided the tools for law enforcement officers to verify the location of every sex offender in the state, something that has never happened before.

We are proud of what has been done to protect our communities. But the RGA’s ads ignore and belittle our real and very important work.

According to the RGA, our work to arrest and prosecute criminals is nonexistent or just ineffective. We know they are wrong, and this is an insult to the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day.

These attacks trivialize the work we do every day and exploit a parent’s worst fears. And to what end? So that in less than thirty days a parent will be frightened into putting a check mark next to Republican Dino Rossi’s name. These attacks are disgusting, unethical and desperate.

The RGA’s ads claim what is happening in Washington sounds like “the plot of a late night scary movie.” We disagree. We have worked with Governor Gregoire to close loopholes and get the tools we need to keep our communities safe. What is truly “scary” is an organization willing to twist, distort and ignore the truth in order to elect a candidate.

Chris Gregoire is the best governor police, sheriffs, prosecutors and parents have ever had in the fight against sex offenders. That is why we support her so strongly. With Chris as Governor, sex offenders can try to run or hide, but we have the tools to hunt them down.

You and your children are safer every day she is in the Governor’s Mansion.

Sincerely,

Sheriff John Lovick, Snohomish County
Sheriff Steve Boyer, Kitsap County
Snohomish County Prosecutor Janice Ellis
Pierce County Prosecutor, Gerry Horne
Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge
Kelly Fox, Washington Council of Firefighters
Dan Kimball, Thurston County Sheriff
Mark Lann, President, WACOPS
Police Chief Scott Smith, President, WASPC
Kenny Stuart, President, Seattle Firefighters, Local 27
Jack Simington, Fraternal Order of Police, Kennewick Police Department
Becky Roe, Attorney
Mike Amos, Yakima Police Department (ret.)
Kathy Goater, Attorney
Mark Roe, Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor
Representative Ericks, former Bothell Police Chief
Mark Lindquist, Pierce County Deputy Prosecutor
Washington State Council of Firefighters
Snohomish County Fire Chief's Association
Washington State Fraternal Order of Police
Washington State Patrol Troopers Association
Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs
Bill Hanson, Executive Director, Fraternal Order of Police
Law Enforcement Administrators of Washington (LAW)
Seattle Fire Fighters Union, Local 27 IAFF, AFL-CIO
Washington Council of Police & Sheriffs (WACOPS)
Washington State Patrol Lieutenants Association
WFSE/AFSCME Local 308 (represents Community Corrections Officers)