The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office is one of the most important institutions in our community. Its deputies respond to emergencies, investigate serious crimes, protect victims and serve residents across a large and diverse county. The person leading that office must possess the experience, judgment, integrity, and temperament necessary to maintain public confidence.
The 2026 sheriff’s election presents voters with two candidates whose professional backgrounds, leadership experiences and recent histories warrant careful examination.
Gabriel “Gabe” Frase is a lifelong Lewis County resident who grew up in Onalaska. Following high school, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1998, serving four years before returning home to begin his law enforcement career.
In 2002, Frase joined the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. During the following 24 years, he worked in nearly every major area of the department.
He has served as a patrol deputy, field training officer, search and rescue coordinator, K9 handler, detective, patrol sergeant, detective sergeant and administrative sergeant. He also participated in regional independent investigations and served in leadership positions involving interagency coordination.
These assignments involve different responsibilities. Patrol deputies respond directly to emergencies. Detectives investigate crimes and work with victims and witnesses. Field training officers help prepare new deputies. Sergeants supervise personnel, review investigations and manage operational decisions.
Frase’s career has included each of those responsibilities.
Today, as special services chief, he oversees several essential divisions within the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, including criminal investigations, civil operations, records and property and evidence management.
Those divisions are critical to the administration of justice. Criminal investigations must be thorough and defensible. Evidence must be properly maintained.
Public records must be handled according to law. Civil processes, including protection orders, require accuracy and accountability.
Frase’s current position places him directly within the management structure responsible for these functions.
Frase has outlined several priorities for the department, including stronger regional law enforcement partnerships, improved transparency, continued deputy training and responsible use of taxpayer resources.
He has also proposed working with local agencies to reestablish a combined SWAT team and drug enforcement unit.
For Lewis County, those proposals deserve serious consideration. Drug trafficking, violent crime, emergency response and complex investigations frequently cross jurisdictional boundaries.
Effective cooperation among sheriff’s deputies, municipal police departments, prosecutors and regional agencies can improve the coordination of those efforts.
Frase has emphasized protecting constitutional rights while holding offenders accountable. He has also identified support for victims, professional training and organizational accountability as priorities.
His experience provides a substantial record against which voters can evaluate those proposals.
The questions surrounding Tracy Murphy
Tracy Murphy also has extensive law enforcement experience, including approximately three decades with the Centralia Police Department and work supervising narcotics investigations.
However, his candidacy has been accompanied by a significant employment controversy.
As early as 2023, the Murphy campaign, in coordination with Lynette Hoffman, have been associated with the filing of an anonymous complaint through the Criminal Justice Training Commission alleging Sheriff Rob Snaza was protecting drug dealers in Lewis County.
A very similar complaint was filed again in 2026 alleging that Murphy had knowledge that Sheriff Snaza was protecting cocaine dealers in Lewis County. Although the source of the 2026 complaint is unknown, it is known that the origin of the 2023 complaint was self-identified as Lynette Hoffman and Sherri Murphy.
This type of political weaponization is very concerning even if it may not have come directly from Murphy himself.
In April 2026, Centralia Police Chief Andy Caldwell terminated Murphy following an administrative investigation. Of three policy allegations considered, two were not sustained. The third, involving false or misleading statements or the omission of material information during investigative interviews, was sustained.
Numerous unrelated individuals have come forward to confirm Murphy’s misrepresentation, including Lewis County Clerk Scott Tinney, Centralia Port Commissioner Ally Pickard, Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope and former Lewis County Deputy Sheriff Bruce Kimsey.
In recent weeks, Chehalis Deputy Police Chief Matt McKnight, a former sheriff candidate himself, and a Lewis County chaplain have added their own testimony to the mounting evidence.
Despite this, Murphy continues to deny providing false or misleading information.
Arbitration is scheduled for November following the elections. That’s when it will be decided whether his termination will be sustained or if he will return to the local police force.
In May, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer also issued a potential impeachment disclosure concerning Murphy. Such disclosures, known as Brady letters, can be relevant to criminal proceedings when information may affect a government witness’s credibility.
The disclosure was not a judicial finding that Murphy committed perjury, nor does it prohibit him from seeking public office. Nevertheless, these developments raise legitimate questions about credibility, professional accountability, and public confidence.
For a sheriff, those issues have particular significance. The office oversees criminal investigations and must work closely with prosecutors, courts and other law enforcement agencies.
More recent developments around “sticky notes” provide another layer of concern. While many have raised concern over the release of names on sticky notes, the greater issue is why Murphy was creating a criminal organizational chart when he said he was not investigating it. His inconsistencies over whether he is or is not investigating is concerning.
Leadership beyond the campaign
The next sheriff will be responsible for much more than enforcing criminal laws.
The position requires managing personnel, developing budgets, maintaining professional standards, supporting deputies, protecting constitutional rights and working effectively with elected officials and community organizations.
Frase’s experience in department administration, criminal investigations, evidence management, emergency response and regional coordination is directly relevant to those responsibilities.
Murphy’s extensive narcotics enforcement background is also relevant, although his disciplinary dispute remains an important consideration.
The distinction between the candidates is therefore not simply a matter of years served. It involves the breadth of their responsibilities, their proposed approaches to managing the department and the questions raised by their respective professional records.
The standard Lewis County deserves
The sheriff’s office must maintain the confidence of crime victims, deputies, prosecutors, community partners and the public.
That confidence depends on transparent leadership, credible investigations, consistent professional standards and responsible stewardship of public resources.
Gabriel Frase’s long service within the sheriff’s office, his military background, his executive responsibilities and his detailed public safety priorities provide voters with an extensive record to examine.
The election presents an opportunity for Lewis County residents to consider the qualifications and accountability they expect from the person entrusted with leading one of their most important public safety institutions.
It is for those reasons that The Chronicle Editorial Board endorses Gabriel Frase for Lewis County sheriff.
