Home Appointments Sheriff
Sheriff
King County Sheriff's Office, Washington
| Appointee | Sue Rahr |
|---|---|
| Role | Sheriff |
| Organisation | King County Sheriff's Office, Washington |
| Domain | Law Enforcement |
| Start | 15 December 2005 |
| End | 31 March 2012 |
| Notes | First woman elected sheriff in King County (Seattle); earliest documented woman elected sheriff in Washington state |
Susan L. "Sue" Rahr was elected sheriff of King County, Washington in November 2005 and took office on 15 December 2005. She is the first woman elected sheriff of King County — the state's largest county, with approximately two million residents and including the city of Seattle — and is on the available record the earliest documented woman elected sheriff in Washington state. She was re-elected unopposed in 2009 (97 per cent of the vote) and served until her resignation on 31 March 2012 to lead the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
Pathway to office
Rahr's pathway to the office is distinct from the widow-succession pattern that produced most pre-1976 US women sheriffs. She had served the King County Sheriff's Office for 25 years — rising to Chief of the Field Operations Division — when outgoing Sheriff Dave Reichert appointed her interim sheriff in 2005 upon his election to the US House of Representatives. She then won a competitive November 2005 election on her own record.
The "partial" verification badge on this dossier reflects the appointment-then-election pathway rather than evidence Rahr was not the WA state first. The earlier-than-Rahr WA woman sheriff record — if any — does not surface in publicly available sources, the King County Sheriff's Office historical record, or the Washington Sheriffs' Association coverage. The dossier's first-woman claim is held on the strength of the King County first-woman record plus the absence of any documented earlier WA woman elected sheriff.
Background
Rahr began her career with the King County Sheriff's Office in 1979 as a patrol deputy. Over twenty-five years she served in narcotics, internal investigations, and command roles. The 2005 succession from Reichert was anchored in her seniority within the office rather than political patronage.
Tenure
The 2008–2012 stretch of Rahr's tenure was marked by the police-reform debate that followed several high-profile incidents in King County; she has been credited as an early proponent of the de-escalation training model that later became national doctrine through her work at the State Training Commission. She received the 2010 Storm Women of Inspiration award.
