Sheriff Songer hosts town hall in White Salmon

“My boss is the public — the citizens in the county. My boss is not the Board of County Commissioners, even sometimes they like to think they are, but they’re not by law,” Songer told Columbia Gorge News. “And nor is the governor or Attorney General. They’re not my boss as well. The only boss I have is the citizens of this county.”

During the two-hour event, Songer addressed the county budget, cougar and wolf sightings and his health, though the county jail dominated the first hour of debate.

Reviewing the events that transpired in March and April in regard to the county jail, Sheriff Songer continued to publicly accuse County Commissioners Anderson and Lori Zoller of lying and he questioned their competency. According to reporting by the Columbia Gorge News and Rodger Nichols, the county commission has set up a new Department of Corrections and the transfer of authority has begun. Christopher and Anderson confirmed to Columbia Gorge News that the commission has made a “conditional job offer” to a candidate for the new jail administrator.

“I think both sides of the general public will be very happy with the credentials and the competency of that person,” Christopher added.

When asked about what’s next for the jail, Christopher said: “I honestly don’t know? In all reality, I’m really out of the loop. I’m out of the loop on the jail. I’m out of the loop on the budget. [Commissioners Zoller and Anderson] do talk about it in open session, but I can kind of tell they already have plans.”

Anderson responded by saying: "Commissioner Christopher's assertion that he's being left out of the loop is not grounded in fact. Every discussion about the jail and the budget has taken place in open sessions where all commissioners, including Commissioner Christopher, have the opportunity to participate. If he feels uninformed, it's due to his own lack of engagement, not because information is being withheld. The work we do requires all of us to be proactive, and I would urge him to take more responsibility in staying informed and contributing meaningfully to these important discussions."

Songer expressed his concerns for possible cuts to the sheriff’s budget in 2025. According to the Klickitat County Preliminary 2025 Budget, the sheriff’s office requested two additional deputy positions. Songer said he has four deputies at the moment and hopes to add a fifth by the end of October. Columbia Gorge News reported in the Sept. 18 edition that the county had a budget line of approximately $2.4 million for the sheriff’s office, but hadn’t included any finances for improvements.

Songer said of potential budget cuts: “If that happens, that means that’s a more dangerous situation for the officers on the street, because I’ll have less deputies patrolling out there responding to calls, and [it’s] a dangerous situation for all of you — the citizens that we’d be responding to — because we won’t have the manpower to do a lot of the things we do.”

Songer followed with a threat to Zoller and Anderson: “I’ll say it again, if they pull that trigger, and they absolutely do this — if I have to pay for an attorney myself, I will sue Lori Zoller and Jake Anderson ... because they’re endangering the public and the deputies Alliance,” Songer said.

According to Anderson, last year the sheriff’s office went approximately $300,000 over budget.

"The sheriff's office exceeded its budget by $300,000 last year, which required an emergency supplemental in December. This year, the patrol division is on track to run out of money by mid-November," Anderson told Columbia Gorge News. "Threatening lawsuits does nothing to resolve the budget issues he’s facing within his own department, and it's a distraction from the real problem: fiscal responsibility."

When Anderson arrived with his son, the conversation quickly diverted to wildlife and Songer’s approach to public safety. With two of the three Klickitat county commissioners in attendance — and Christopher having already spoken — Anderson listened and observed in order to avoid breaking public meeting laws.

Some residents complained about the herds of elk apparently trampling and ruining hay harvest. A 20-minute rant from a Goldendale resident was followed by instructions from Christopher about how to deal with the animals. It had been suggested that the Department of Fish and Wildlife was not fixing the problem and Christopher said the Department of Fish and Wildlife is a “waste” and referred to them as the “Department of Failure and Waste.”

Songer’s Dangerous Wildlife Policy and Procedures authorizes deputies and volunteer posse/special deputies to kill cougars and other dangerous animals if they are considered a high risk to the community. It has stirred controversy and a concerned citizen accused Songer of killing 90 cougars. Sheriff Songer corrected them: “Ninety! Wow! Probably about 34.”

Anderson’s son asked a question about the systems within the sheriff’s department to keep deputies safe. Songer pointed to the department’s counseling unit that helps officers who may have experienced significant trauma while on the job. He added that he believes the job has changed and the stigma of asking for mental health help surrounding police departments is slowly subsiding.

When asked about his own health following a stroke in June, Songer said he would consider medically retiring, but as of now he intends to execute the final two years of his term.

Sheriff Songer plans to be in Goldendale on Sept. 25 for another unmoderated town hall, with intentions to organize more engagement opportunities in the future.

“I'm going to continue with town halls, even after this jail overtake and all this controversy gets over. I’ll have some in Glenwood, Trout Lake and Bickleton,” Songer said.

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Just three days later on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m., experts at the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights will give a presentation titled “Radical Far-Right Sheriffs and the Threat to Democracy."

The Klickitat County Concerned Citizens group issued a press release stating: “This presentation will cover the ongoing efforts of far-right radical groups to recruit local sheriffs into their extremist movements and organize law enforcement officers to undermine our democracy and the rule of law.

"Experts will detail the work of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), including its roots in vigilantism and its ties to paramilitary organizations including the Oath Keepers — convicted insurrectionists who participated in the violent Jan. 6, 2021, attempt to overthrow the legally elected president of the United States. They will also look ahead to these organizations’ plans to intervene in upcoming elections.

"Please join us for this revealing presentation. For more information and to register, visit klickitatcountyconcernedcitizens.weebly.com.”

Those interested can attend from home or join their neighbors at the Goldendale Public Library or in White Salmon at the Mt. View Grange.