Sheriff Derek Sanders asks to have own salary frozen amid ‘tough economic conditions’ plaguing Thurston County
May 6, 2026, 9:07 AM | Updated: 9:10 am
Posed photo of Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders. (Photo courtesy of Derek Sanders' reelection campaign)
(Photo courtesy of Derek Sanders' reelection campaign)
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders is asking the county commission on salaries to freeze his pay for the second year in a row.
In a letter he sent to the commission, which he later posted on Facebook, Sanders said he doesn’t want any salary increase while families are dealing with tough economic conditions. Washington state law won’t let him take a pay cut, even if he wants to, only a freeze. This law is in place as a safeguard to prevent political pay-cut retaliation among elected leaders.
“Every year, the citizen salary commission develops recommendations for elected official salary increases,” Sanders clarified in his post. “At our request, salaries were frozen in place last year. This year, I’m asking for the same thing. I’ll still receive a salary for the job, but I am asking for my pay to be frozen in place with no increase, given our current economic conditions.”
Last year, Sanders’ salary was $182,761, according to The Nisqually Valley News, making him the second-highest paid elected official in Thurston County.
This isn’t the first time Sanders has made this request. In 2025, he and the five members of the Board of County Commissioners had their salaries frozen in place at their own request.
Thurston County, facing a budget deficit of more than $20 million, decided to make $9.84 million in cuts, including $2.5 million within the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office — split between a $1.24 million cut to law enforcement and a $1.29 million cut to corrections.
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Sanders announces reelection campaign
In February, Sanders announced he is running for reelection to stay on as Thurston County’s sheriff, running as a nonpartisan independent.
“Impartiality remains central to effective law enforcement and is a key reason Sanders is continuing his reelection campaign as a nonpartisan independent,” his reelection campaign wrote in a news release.
Sanders will run against Kevin Burton-Crow, an Army veteran and current special victims detective with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office. Burton-Crow is running as a Democrat.
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