Former Chelan County Sheriff Burnett Running For State Rep. Seat

Former Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett is running for the state representative seat being vacated by Keith Goehner.

Burnett released a statement late Friday night stating his candidacy comes as State Representative Keith Goehner seeks a higher office.

Goehner is now running to replace fellow Republican Brad Hawkins, who is not running for reelection as the 12th District Senator.

Burnett is a Republican who served 12 years as sheriff before being defeated in his reelection effort by current Sheriff Mike Morrison in 2022.

Currently, Burnett works for a privately owned traffic and security services company in Seattle

He's the Director of Law Enforcement Services for Seattle’s Finest Security and Traffic Control.

Burnett is 56 years old and lives in Wenatchee with his wife, April. They've been married for 37 years and have seven children along with eight grandchildren.

He's a former President of the Washington Association of Sheriff and Police Chiefs (WASPC) and also served as a President of the Washington State Sheriffs Association (WSSA). In addition, he was appointed by Governor Inslee to be Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commissioner.

Burnett had not filed for election with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of late Friday.

The two other candidates have. They are North Bend City Councilor Heather Koellen, a Democrat, and Daniel C Scott of Cashmere, a Republican.

All candidates must file at the county level next Monday through Friday (May 6-10).

The 12th District has undergone significant geographic changes in the past two years and now includes territory west of the Cascade mountains in King and Snohomish counties.

The once-a-decade redistricting process in 2022 moved the 12th district to the west. Then a ruling this year from a federal judge on an unrelated voting matter ended up moving the boundaries even further west.

King and Snohomish counties lean Democratic, while the rest of the 12th district is reliably Republican.