EVERETT — A former Snohomish County sheriff hopes to return to his old job in 2027.<\/p>\n
Adam Fortney announced his decision to run for sheriff on social media Monday.<\/p>\n
Fortney is the first to declare candidacy against current Snohomish County Sheriff Susanna Johnson, the same person who defeated him in 2023 by a margin of 51.5% to 48.4%.<\/p>\n
In the announcement<\/a>, Fortney said his campaign will focus on “transforming and revitalizing leadership within the Sheriff’s Office while strengthening public safety and supporting the next generation of law enforcement professionals.”<\/p>\n “It is time for a new generation of leadership in public safety,” Fortney said in the release.<\/p>\n Fortney did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n His time as sheriff didn’t pass without controversy, most notably because of his decision to rehire deputies fired under the previous sheriff<\/a> and his public criticism of Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-home order<\/a> during the COVID pandemic.<\/p>\n In 2023, he admitted to violating state law<\/a> by accepting campaign contributions over the state limit and filing inaccurate financial reports. He agreed to pay a $450 fine in lieu of a state Public Disclosure Commission enforcement hearing.<\/p>\n In 2019, Fortney’s campaign<\/a> included a pledge to “take the handcuffs off police officers and put them on the criminals where they belong.”<\/p>\n Once he was elected, Fortney reinstated two deputies, Matt Boice and Evan Twedt, who lost their jobs after an internal investigation found they had conducted a warrantless search of a car and tried to cover it up.<\/p>\n Fortney also reinstated Deputy Art Wallin<\/a>, who was fired for violating policy in the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Nickolas Peters. More than a year after the shooting, the county settled a civil lawsuit for $1 million in January 2020.<\/p>\n In 2020, Fortney’s open criticism of Gov. Inslee’s policies led to two unsuccessful recall attempts. On Facebook, Fortney stated he would not enforce the pandemic stay-home order because he believed it was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n In 2023, the race between Fortney and Johnson was one of the most expensive county sheriff elections in state history. Together, both campaigns raised $525,000. The race was hotly contested<\/a> and deeply personal.<\/p>\n Fortney’s 2027 campaign announcement emphasized transparency, deputy recruitment and retention, fiscal responsibility and community collaboration.<\/p>\n “Our community deserves leadership that brings hope, integrity, and progress to the Sheriff’s Office and to every person we serve,” he said on Facebook. “We must build a Sheriff’s Office that attracts professionals who not only have the skills to serve, but also the commitment to integrity, service, and community trust.”<\/p>\n Next, Fortney plans to meet with residents and community leaders across the county, he said.<\/p>\n Taylor Scott Richmond: 425-339-3046; taylor.richmond@heraldnet.com<\/a>; X: @BTayOkay<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The former sheriff said his campaign will focus on transparency and updating public safety leadership. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1040,"featured_media":887132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[954,1084,2,1024],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elections","category-elections-news","category-news","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/heraldnet.com\/2026\/03\/18\/adam-fortney-announces-plans-to-run-for-snohomish-county-sheriff-again\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Adam Fortney announces plans to run for Snohomish County sheriff again","url":"http:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/2026\/03\/18\/adam-fortney-announces-plans-to-run-for-snohomish-county-sheriff-again\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/2026\/03\/18\/adam-fortney-announces-plans-to-run-for-snohomish-county-sheriff-again\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/41838376_web1_L3-FortneySignWaving-EDH-231106-FS.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.heraldnet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/41838376_web1_L3-FortneySignWaving-EDH-231106-FS.jpg"},"articleSection":"Elections","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Taylor Scott Richmond"}],"creator":["Taylor Scott Richmond"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"HeraldNet.com","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-03-18T08:30:00Z","datePublished":"2026-03-18T08:30:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-27T20:38:01Z"},"rendered":"