Dave Workman
Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr is quickly proving that she is nobody with whom to tangle when it comes to making tough calls, trimming fat from a budget and putting public officials on the spot.

In Tuesday’s on-line edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reporter Scott Gutierrez reveals a proposal from Rahr to interim King County Executive Kurt Triplett – who replaced Ron Sims when he flew off to a cushy “bail out” job with the Obama administration (What else could one call it? Sims was not likely to get re-elected this fall, and just about everybody knew it.) – about how to cut $200,000 from her budget. She explained this in a letter to Triplett.

She would eliminate his security detail, consisting of two sheriff’s detectives. This detail has been with every county executive since the 1980s with the exception of Tim Hill, and a couple of years ago, the department started officially budgeting for it, to the tune of about $60,000 overtime in addition to their regular salaries.

 According to a reliable source in the sheriff’s office, a detective picks up the executive at his doorstep every morning, goes with him to meetings and events throughout the day and in the evening, and then takes him home at night. This security detective also accompanies the executive on out-of-town trips. We should all endure that kind of pampering.

Truth be known, we’re not just talking about two detectives. There has to be someone else available in case one of the primary people is on sick leave or vacation.

Detectives assigned to the executive’s security detail typically work more than 40 hours a week, and fair labor standards require overtime payment for that.

Here’s a suggestion for self-important public officials who think they cannot travel safely without a security detail: Buy a handgun and learn to use it. Us lowly private citizens - your constituents - do that. Carry it with you on the job. If you are not licensed to carry concealed, get a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). Washington State’s CPL is recognized in about 18 states, and if you need cover in the rest of the states, get either or both a Utah or Florida non-resident carry license (mine is from Florida), and that will just about cover all of your bases.