Incumbent Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders formally kicked off his re-election campaign with a large celebration on Saturday.
Sanders welcomed a crowd of roughly 1,000 supporters, including other elected officials and Thurston County Sheriff’s Office deputies, to the Thurston County Fairgrounds on May 9.
“Has this ever been done before in our county? Have we ever had a party like this before for a candidate? No,” said former Nisqually Valley Tribal Chair Willie Frank III during a speech endorsing Sanders on Saturday.
The large turnout to Sanders’ kickoff event and the outpouring of community support Sanders has garnered is a sign that “we’re moving in the right direction,” Frank said.
“I think about where we are today, but I also think about where we're going to go in the future, and I would not want anybody else protecting our great county than Sheriff Sanders,” Frank said.
Sanders was first elected sheriff in 2022 at the age of 28 — beating out then-incumbent John Snaza, who had been sheriff since 2011.
Sanders served for six years as a deputy with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office before he was elected to his first term as sheriff, running on a platform of improving employee morale, greater office transparency, and introducing technology-based solutions for problems facing the community.
He made good on those promises during his first term, increasing the sheriff’s office’s staffing levels, implementing a body-worn camera program, planning for a new headquarters, and improving pay and training opportunities for all employees.
“Sheriff Sanders came to this office with a deep belief that public safety is not just about responding to the crisis. It is about building trust before the crisis happens,” Thurston County Commissioner Carolina Mejia said during a speech endorsing Sanders on Saturday. “It is about making sure that we feel supported, making sure the public has information and making sure the sheriff's office is present in the life of the community — not hiding behind a title, a desk or a press release.”
Sanders’ platform for his re-election campaign focuses on continuing the work he began during his first term.
His “Clear Plan to Keep Thurston County Safe” includes using data-informed strategies to reduce crime; continuing to bolster staffing levels; maintaining high standards through ongoing training, supervision and accountability; continuing to work strongly with local governments and community partners; planning for the future by investing in infrastructure; building community trust; and maintaining the department’s reputation for exemplary police work.
Sanders thanked his supporters Saturday for trusting a young man with no prior executive experience to run the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, and promised to continue the work he started during his first term.
“Kind of tracking back to my childhood, I know firsthand just how powerful good law enforcement can be,” Sanders said in a video statement that was shared to his campaign’s social media.
Thurston County has been his home for over two decades, and is where his life “finally found stability,” he said.
Of his campaign platform, Sanders said, “I think this is just who I am. It’s everything I believe in — good, competent law enforcement.”
He said he was “beyond humbled” by the support he received at his kickoff celebration on Saturday.
“I just think that in this position, you have so much influence over making sure that competent, good police work is occurring in the county. Today’s kickoff campaign just validates that I’m not alone in that thought, that there’s hundreds and hundreds if not thousands if not tens of thousands of people who are rallying to the cause of good, balanced law enforcement, non-partisan law enforcement,” Sanders said. “We’re just here to get the job done and get it done right.”
Among those rallying to Sanders’ cause are former Thurston County Commissioner and Thurston County Sheriff Gary Edwards, Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Sen. Jessica Bateman, Rep. Lauren Davis, Clark County Sheriff Mike Morrison, Tumwater Firefighters IAFF Local 2409, the Tumwater Police Guild and the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit. He has also been endorsed by Lacey City Councilmember Lenny Greenstein, Olympia City Councilmember Paul Berendt, Tumwater City Councilmember Kelly Von Holtz, Yelm City Councilmember Terry Kaminski, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock, Thurston County Treasurer Jeff Gadman, three Thurston County Commissioners and every mayor in Thurston County.
“Thurston County is back on the map as being one of the safest places to be in Washington state, and I think that’s because of your leadership,” Olympia Mayor Dontae Payne said to Sanders during a speech at Sanders’ kickoff event on Saturday.
Payne commended Sanders for his transparency, his willingness and ability to hold himself and others accountable, his professionalism and the work he has done to be accessible and truly serve his community.
“You understand that it's important to build community and to have people trust you with the role that you've been given. And I think we all certainly do, and that's why we're here today,” Payne said.
Sanders formally filed for re-election on Monday, May 4, after announcing his re-election campaign on Feb. 5. He is running as an Independent, same as he did in 2022.
To learn more about Sanders’ campaign, visit https://www.sandersforsheriff.org/
Sanders faces one challenger, Kevin Burton-Crow, a current Thurston County Sheriff’s Office detective who is running as a Democrat. Burton-Crow formally filed his candidacy on May 6 and held his campaign kick-off event on March 26.
To read about that event, visit https://tinyurl.com/a9zbkfyp
For more information about Burton-Crow, visit https://www.burton-crowforsheriff.com
The winner of the November general election will serve a four-year term.
