Snohomish sheriff questions county executive's decision to hire former sheriff as analyst

EVERETT, Wash. - Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney is questioning County Executive Dave Somers’s decision to hire the former sheriff as a policy analyst.

Former Sheriff Ty Trenary will work with the county as a policy analyst focusing on law and justice systems. Those systems include the prosecutors and public defender’s office, the courts, and the sheriff’s office, said Kent Patton with Snohomish County.

“Let’s throw the question out to the community, ‘do you think you need another senior policy analyst at $150k a year of taxpayer money to get the job done of public safety,’” said Sheriff Adam Fortney.

Fortney says he does not think this position would exist if the elections went differently.

“If you want to call that political payback, it sure looks like it on its face,” he said.

Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers replied with this statement:

“Ty Trenary has the ideal experience to provide policy advice to our office as we work to stand up new programs and analyze existing policies across our law and justice system. Ty has served in uniform for over three decades, including as chief of police for one of our cities and as an elected sheriff. For most of his thirty-two years as a cop, he was on the front lines of public safety, making the tough decisions to keep our streets safe. He knows what it’s like to wear a badge and gun and put his life on the line every day for the people of our community. By having Ty in our office, we are better able to understand the complex needs of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Ty worked in the sheriff’s office for 28 years and will be an advocate for the office’s needs.”

Patton says the county created an HR policy analyst position which they also filled. He says there were already two policy analysts on staff before these two new positions.