Pierce County Detective Announces Bid for Sheriff

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — Sheriff Paul Pastor has announced he will retire at the end of the year after 19 years as Sheriff. Now a second candidate has announced a run to replace Pastor.

As the Tacoma News Tribune reports, Ed Troyer has been the sheriff's spokesman for 19 years and Tuesday announced his bid to be the next Pierce County Sheriff.

“I’m not really interested in politics, but to be sheriff I have to run,” Troyer told the News Tribune. “This is all I want to do. I want to keep the Sheriff’s Department strong, I want to keep the office non-political and I want to keep our community safe.”

The Tribune reports that Troyer has performed a variety of roles during his career, from detective, spokesman, commissioner on the Washington State Gambling Commission and executive director of CrimeStoppers.

Pastor was first appointed Sheriff in 2001 and went on to become the longest serving sheriff in the county's history, according to Q13 news. Troyer faces at least one other candidate in the race to replace Pastor: Pierce County Council Chair Doug Richardson, who announced his run back in March. Richardson served in the Army for 32, obtaining the rank of brigadier general before retiring. He has also served as a council member and mayor for Lakewood and is currently the District 6 representative on the County Council.

A third candidate, Darin Harris, has also reportedly expressed interest in running.

All of the candidates running to replace Pastor will have to officially file to run next week after filing opens Monday.