This former sheriff is awaiting backups on Capitol Hill: ‘We have a lot to say’ | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Washington state Republican Rep. Dave Reichert says he doesn’t want to be the only former sheriff on Capitol Hill in 2017.

Reichert, 66, is a former 33-year lawman who served as King County Sheriff before joining Congress in 2005. He says it was “a pretty drastic transition,” after spending a career enforcing laws made by others.

“In this world, you’re the one making the laws,” Reichert said in an interview Wednesday. “You’re going from kind of a paramilitary organization to now one that’s gray, shall we say?”

Reichert, who’s considered a sure bet to win re-election, said he could be the only sheriff next year, with the retirements of Florida Republican Reps. Richard Nugent, a former sheriff, and Jeff Miller, a former deputy sheriff.

But he’s hoping to get some new company. And the odds are good that he will, with three former or current sheriffs running for Congress in California, Arizona and Florida.

In the California race, Democratic Rep. Ami Bera faces a challenge from Republican Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones. In Florida, former Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford is running as a Republican. And in Arizona, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has backing from the GOP.

“They’re going to be my backups,” Reichert joked.

Reichert said it will be important to have the perspective of law-enforcement officers in the next Congress as lawmakers consider overhauling the criminal justice system. As a GOP point man on law-enforcement issues, he’s been particularly busy this year, with a flurry of shootings involving police officers across the nation.

“We place all the ills of society today on the shoulders of the men and women who wear our police uniforms across this country,” Reichert said. “They can’t solve those ills. When law enforcement comes to Congress, we have a lot to say.”