Two men are vying to replace Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich as he prepares to leave after 16 years in office. One has Knezovich's endorsement and mentorship, the other has his ire.
Knezovich's endorsee is John Nowels, a Republican with 24 years of experience in the sheriff's office. He worked his way through the ranks of patrolman, detective and chief criminal deputy before being promoted in 2019 to undersheriff — a senior position on the sheriff's command staff.
Up against Nowels is Wade Nelson, also a Republican. Nelson spent 21 years in the department working a variety of roles including patrolman and detective, and in emergency management and marine enforcement. Nelson quit the sheriff's office in July after taking a leave of absence that he says was partially motivated by frustrations over Knezovich's leadership style.
Knezovich hasn't been subtle about his preference for a successor. Earlier this summer, he described Nelson as "kind of a malcontent" and accused him of being dishonest and unprepared for the role of sheriff. He said Nowels will "uphold the standards of this agency the way that I have."
Nowels, who received 54 percent of the total votes in the primary compared with Nelson's 28 percent, also has endorsements from sheriffs in more than two dozen Washington counties and from prominent local Republicans like U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, county Prosecutor Larry Haskell and county Commissioners Mary Kuney and Al French.
Nelson has endorsements from local Teamsters unions and the union representing corrections officers at the Spokane County Jail and Geiger detention centers.
Throughout his campaign, Nelson has argued that a lack of manpower in the sheriff's office is leading to morale issues and slower response times. He criticizes Knezovich and Nowels for being slow to anticipate retirements and local population growth, and says he would do more to recruit more deputies. Nowels argues that departments across the country have struggled with staffing shortages, and says the sheriff's office is already on track to fill staffing gaps after a record hiring spree this year.
When it comes to morale, Nowels says Nelson also has it all wrong. Nowels says people in the sheriff's office tell him morale is at 90 percent — maybe more like 98 percent after the department authorized deputies to wear cowboy hats as part of their uniform this summer.
As someone who is now outside the department, Nelson argues that he can bring a fresh set of eyes to the sheriff's office and make changes the sheriff's preferred candidate won't make. During a KSPS-TV debate recorded Oct. 11, Nowels accused Nelson of lacking leadership experience and not understanding the problems in the agency. If Nelson tried to rejoin the sheriff's office, Nowels said, his lack of experience would disqualify him from even taking the test for sergeant.
"I have spent the last 10 years of my career working to qualify myself to be sheriff of this agency and of this community," Nowels said. "My opponent did nothing but quit."
Nowels supports the sheriff's plan to clear Camp Hope, the large homeless encampment in the city of Spokane, by mid-November, but Nelson says the sheriff's plan is rash and will result in residents of the encampment being scattered across the city. ♦
