Johnson outgunning incumbent Fortney for Snohomish County Sheriff
Nov 8, 2023, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:02 pm
Adam Fortney and Susanna Johnson vying for Snohomish County Sheriff. (Images courtesy of the campaigns)
(Images courtesy of the campaigns)
The showdown for Snohomish County Sheriff has incumbent Sheriff Adam Fortney trailing challenger Susanna Johnson 51.7% to 48.2%. Johnson has 67,294 votes, according to Snohomish County’s latest ballot drop, while Fortney has 62,758.
Fortney has been with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department since 1996 and was first elected to sheriff in 2019. Fortney additionally survived a failed recall election in 2021.
Election race list: The updated 2023 voting results in Washington
In Fortney’s 24 years with the sheriff’s department, he worked in patrol, K-9, and SWAT. He was promoted to sergeant in 2014.
“When I ran in 2019, I didn’t like the direction of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office,” Fortney told KIRO 7. “I had a couple decades of service in me. And I thought we could go down a stronger path of public safety. I think I’ve brought that in the last four years. And that’s absolutely what I’m going to continue in the next four years.”
More on Adam Fortney: Snohomish County Sheriff will run for re-election after failed recall effort
The fentanyl crisis running rampant throughout the state remains one of Fortney’s top priorities.
“As much as I’m the law and order guy, I want to be the compassion guy too,” Fortney continued. “When people are in our care, we’re responsible for them. We’re about to start a recovery module at the Snohomish County Jail for those that are willing to start their path to recovery, they’ll have access to that.”
His opponent Johnson worked at the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office for 30 years, starting as a patrol deputy and working all the way up to Bureau Chief of Operations — the third in the chain of command after sheriff and undersheriff. Johnson is also a decorated graduate of the FBI National Academy.
“We actually are finding that people are less likely to call 911 when we have diminished public trust,” Johnson told KIRO 7 in regards to gaining the public’s trust. “So, for me, I think that we need to do a much better job with public trust right now in this position. I think a lot of those other things will come from it.”
More on Adam Fortney: Snohomish County Sheriff uses platform to fight ‘anti-police’ laws
Two years ago, Susanna Johnson was recruited by the Bothell Police Department to serve as a Lateral Police Captain. She was then promoted to Deputy Chief.
Head here to see the updated 2023 voting results in Washington.
