Adam Fortney for Sheriff

09/07/2026

Having served over a decade as the Snohomish County Deputy Deputy Sheriff Association president, I know labor. My combined experience of having been at the top of police executive leadership as the Sheriff for four years along with the DSA president for over a decade, I bring a unique ability to see things from both sides and bring people together to get results. It’s not always easy, but it can be done.

As you can see in the picture I’ve attached to this post, this type of experience matters. During my first term as your Sheriff, during incredibly difficult times in public safety, we were able to come together as part of our local government and provide our deputies and sergeants a historic labor contract. We did all of this without raising taxes.

If you are able to get Labor Day off, I hope you get some rest and enjoy the downtime. If you are working to provide for your family, thank you for what you do. As for me, I will be working a full shift on the streets to make sure there are enough deputies on the street to answer calls for service.

Happy Labor Day!

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

09/04/2026

At a recent forum, the current Sheriff remarked about deputy wages, the cost of living in Washington, housing prices and overall affordability for deputies to be able to make a living for their families in Snohomish County. She said she hates taxes.

She forgot to mention that just two weeks ago, she made it more difficult and more expensive for deputies to live and work in Snohomish County by personally advocating for a higher sales tax.

For those keeping score, both can’t be true.

Since taking office she has consistently advocated to raise taxes and secured herself a nearly $50,000 A YEAR PAY RAISE FOR HERSELF while deputies remain out of contract.

This election will not be 2023 all over again. These “inconsistencies” from her and contrasts between the two will be pointed out so the voters have all of the information.

We need authenticity, straight talk and consistency back at the Sheriff’s Office.

I’m just getting started!

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

09/02/2026

My vision is to rebuild our culture at the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office. If we do this as the article states, "culture has always been our greatest competitive advantage. It’s also our greatest vulnerability. Agencies with strong, healthy cultures can weather almost any crisis. Agencies without them struggle during even routine challenges. The difference isn’t technology or tactics. It’s leadership.

Our leaders must LEAD BY EXAMPLE in order to build this culture.

When our culture is thriving at the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office, it has the potential to draw people into this profession from all over the country. We need leaders who can inspire the next generation of public safety professionals.

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

08/31/2026

Checked out the fair with the family today. While there the person running the 4H kids figured out I was the former Sheriff and talked me into a horse race. It for the kids!

When I wasn’t doing that, I was scouting new patrol car models at the monster trucks! Always working!!

08/28/2026

Sometimes you run across an article that captures everything you are trying to say. For me, this one does exactly that! The 1990s management style for police leadership that puts processes before people does not work anymore and it will not inspire the next generation of public safety professionals. Thank you Simon Sinek!

From the article:

Effective professionals, he said, need both the skills required to perform the job and the human skills required to work with and lead others. “If you’re only good at hard skills, nobody wants to work with you,” Sinek said. “Nobody wants to trust you.”

“As you make your way up the ranks, the human skills become more and more important,” Sinek said.

People can sustain difficult work when they believe in its purpose. “Working hard for something we don’t believe in is called stress,” Sinek said. “Working hard for something we do believe in is called passion.”

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

https://www.police1.com/real-time-policing/nrtcca-2026-quick-take-6-leadership-lessons-from-simon-sinek-for-the-age-of-ai

Sinek challenged public safety leaders to invest as deliberately in trust, purpose and human skills as they do in rapidly advancing technology

08/27/2026

I’m glad to see at least one city councilmember talking about the mismanagement of the Sheriff’s Office budget and what this means for both taxpayers and the cities around us that utilize the Snohomish County Jail to help keep their cities safe.  There is so much anger at this current Sheriff administration but most are not talking about it publicly.  I give a lot of credit to this one for being transparent.  

To everyone that lives in a city, works for a city, or for anyone in Snohomish County for that matter, there is a better way and I have the track record to back it up.  Pay attention to this 2027 election for Snohomish County Sheriff.  I will work harder than anyone to earn your vote and get this back on track.  A stronger Sheriff’s Office makes for a stronger Snohomish County!

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

08/22/2026

There are a few remaining spots for this campaign kickoff coming up on September 13! I have been so excited about the response to this event! This is a free event and simply register from our website so we can keep a head count.

It is time for a new path to bring the Sheriff’s Office into a new generation of leadership that can inspire the next generation to come into this profession. I’ve done it once and I’ll do it again!

I would specifically like to invite those who haven’t been to a political event or doesn’t know anything about the race for Sheriff! Come and check it out!

08/21/2026

This is interesting to me and I’m glad to see someone talking about it. When I was Sheriff and there was a string of juvenile gang shootings, I met with the director of the Denny Youth Center and head of the superior court (they run the youth center). I asked for two changes in bookings at the youth center: 1-If a juvenile is caught with a firearm we should be able to book them and 2- if there was any crime and we could show it was related to gang activity we should also be able to book them. I was shot down. And to be honest the conversation was a non starter for them.

I am the biggest supporter of our youth getting second chances and that’s why I started my LEAD The Way Foundation. But we are doing our youth and our community a disservice when we don’t hold youth accountable. If there is no accountability, we are showing the youth there are no consequences for this behavior.

Juvenile crime is one area where our leaders are simply not in touch with the community.

Good on this legislator!

https://fb.watch/J8hBtlPkgG/?

08/21/2026

As Sheriff, it will be my job to give people a reason to want to stay in this profession and carry out their service in Snohomish County. We cannot do this with a 1990s style of police leadership that ran its course a decade ago. I will appoint a command staff that are all people first-future focused leaders which will reverberate throughout the organization and beyond. This means they will not sit behind a desk for months on end, not knowing their own people and simply waiting for the next emergency of the day to hit their desk and react to it. My command staff will have a vision for the future and they will proactively live out that vision with our people. This will build a culture that people will want to remain in and be a part of.

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com

08/14/2026

Staffing will be priority #1 for me as your Sheriff and I have proven results in my first term that it can be done. We cannot afford to simply sit back and blame “national trends” in police staffing when other agencies around us are proving otherwise. If “national trends” were to blame for our current staffing crisis, where were the “national trends” when I was in office during the most tumultuous times in public safety history, yet I was setting hiring records? As your Sheriff, I will not allow someone else’s narrative to dictate my vision for public safety in Snohomish County. I will build a culture that the next generation of public safety professionals will want to be a part of and we will have fun doing it!

People First – Future Focused.
fortneyforsheriff.com