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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2025
Tacoma, WA — The message is loud and clear: Pierce County’s law enforcement professionals have overwhelmingly rejected the County Executive’s inadequate contract proposal—sending a resounding vote of no confidence in his approach to public safety. With a record-breaking 97% turnout, deputies delivered a near-unanimous 99.7% verdict: 290 to 1 rejected County Executive Ryan Mello’s contract offer.
Public safety in Pierce County starts with the men and women who wear the badge. They deserve more than lip service. They deserve a contract that reflects the risks they take and the service they provide. The Executive’s offer simply doesn’t deliver.
Pierce County currently ranks at the bottom in Washington State for police staffing per capita, crippling the Sheriff’s Office’s ability to keep pace with growing demands across a vast jurisdiction. Chronic underfunding and below-market pay have pushed Pierce County further behind in the fight to recruit and retain qualified deputies.
Meanwhile, surrounding agencies offer better pay and working conditions, pulling candidates away and pushing current deputies to the brink. Our deputies are leaving. Approximately 17 deputies are now looking to leave the Sheriff’s Office for the Tacoma Police Department.
County voters consistently rank public safety as their top concern. But instead of investing in the deputies who protect our communities, the County Executive is turning his back on them. He’s refusing to fund what residents clearly want and what public safety clearly needs.
The Guild remains committed to working toward real solutions—for safer neighborhoods and a contract that keeps top talent in Pierce County.
The ball is in the Executive’s court. It’s time to stop playing politics with public safety and listen to the public and what they want and deserve.
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The Pierce County Deputy Sheriffs Guild is a labor organization of approximately 305 members and has been in existence for decades. We represent the rank-and-file, fully commissioned law enforcement employees of Pierce County that patrol your neighborhoods 24/7. We are separate in name from our brothers and sisters who work in the corrections bureau. We are made up of the ranks of Deputy, Detective, Sergeants, Detective Sergeants and Lieutenants. We work together and in collaboration with like agencies to provide a safer, better, and more stable working environment for our members.
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCDSGuild
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