Republic police chief who opposed I-1639 details run for governor

Loren Culp, police chief of the small Northeastern Washington town of Republic, stated on the Dori Monson Show Wednesday that he is running for governor of Washington state as a Republican in 2020.

Culp gained fame as a gun rights activist in November of last year, when he announced that he would not enforce newly-passed gun law I-1639 and called his town a “Second Amendment sanctuary city.” Other law enforcement department heads in the state soon followed suit.

The experience prompted Culp to write a book on his position titled, “American Cop, Upholding the Constitution and Defending Your Right to Bear Arms,” which came out on Presidents Day of this year.

“I understand common sense … and what’s happening to our state right now is pathetic,” he said. “We’ve got a governor who doesn’t hesitate to spend millions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money on his vain run for the presidency.”

RELATED: Dori | Students mad at Republic police chief should also decry sanctuary cities

In addition to his time in law enforcement, the lifelong Washingtonian spent two decades as a business owner in Olympia, and served in Korea with the U.S. Army, earning the rank of sergeant.

Culp’s small town residence has not stopped him from examining the issues facing the state’s biggest cities. With his new book and gun rights activism over the past half-year, he has traveled around the state speaking at different events.

“I understand the problems that are going on with the so-called homeless crisis,” he said. “I don’t believe it’s anything to do with homes — it’s more to do with addiction and the mental health crisis that our state doesn’t seem to want to take care of.”

The Republic police chief promised that if he is elected, he will never sign off on a tax increase. As a way to gain state revenue without tax hikes, he would cut state government employees by at least 10 percent.

“I believe in smaller government — the smaller it is, the easier it is for the people to control. Right now, we have a bloated state government that seems to think it needs to be involved in everyone’s lives in detail,” he said. “A smaller government is the way to go — that creates individual freedom and liberty … They just raised taxes by how many billion when there’s a surplus; there’s absolutely no reason to treat the citizens and the hardworking Americans and business owners like a cash cow.”

Although it is a drastically divided time politically, Culp believes that his message of restoring individual freedom is one to which people on both sides of the aisle can relate.

“I’m not a politician,” he said. “I’m just a common man who wants to work for the common people and use common sense to do it.”

Culp will hold a campaign kickoff and press conference this Saturday at 12 p.m. at City Park in Republic. To learn more, visit Culp’s official campaign website.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from 12-3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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