Governor Gary Locke’s Remarks
“Chief for a Day” Ceremony
May 11, 2004

Good morning. I am honored to be here.

On behalf of the people of the state of Washington, congratulations to the 15 Chiefs for a Day we are saluting today. And welcome to your families, friends, law enforcement officers and public officials. This is a proud moment for all of us, and for our great state.

As Governor, I am used to meeting with police chiefs and sheriffs. But usually only one or two at a time. So this is a big day for me—one that I will always remember. I have never had the pleasure of meeting 15 new Chiefs all at the same time. Very few police officers even get to be a police chief or sheriff. Most chiefs are the age of your parents so you’ve got to be very smart, brave and dedicated to be a chief at such a young age. I’m wondering if we should contact the Guinness Book of World Records and let them know what’s going on here!

It’s great to see so many of the men and women in uniform who make us all feel safe and secure everyday. Especially you Chiefs for a Day—those uniforms look great on you! I know my daughter Emily and my son Dylan would love to wear a uniform like that!

I think we may also have some “retired” Chiefs here today, too. Would the past Chief for a Day participants who are back here again today please stand? Let’s give all of our past Chiefs for a Day a big round of applause [lead applause]…..

I understand that you new police chiefs came here by limousine. Not even older chiefs get to ride in a limousine. I’ve never even ridden a limousine either. I’m sure those drivers were very careful to drive within the speed limit, especially since their passengers were Chiefs!

As I’m sure our new chiefs know, putting on those uniforms is an honor. And it is an important responsibility. Our troopers and sheriffs and police officers are always there when we need help. They are always looking out for us and protecting us. It’s a big job.

So all of the people in our state look up to and admire anyone with a police uniform. We all look up to you our 15 young news chiefs. We are counting on you 15 new chiefs to tackle this job and do it well. And I can tell that we can count on these 15 new Chiefs to tackle this job and do it well. You are all obviously very smart, very brave, and very helpful. I know that you have what it takes to make sure our neighborhoods are safe, and to stop crime. The regular chiefs that you’re working with today need your ideas and help to make them better chiefs and sheriffs and to improve their departments.

To the Criminal Justice Training Commission and the 15 law enforcement agencies sponsoring this event today – thank you for bringing joy and pride to the 15 children and their families. And thanks to the many other organizations and individuals who have pitched in to make this a special day our new young chiefs and their families – and all of us. We have a fun day in store for our new Chiefs.

To our new chiefs, congratulations! We have a fun day in store for you. I am very proud of each of you for serving as a chief today and not just for a day – once a chief, always a chief. Your families are also very proud of you. We hope you are all proud of yourselves—you deserve to be!

So let’s all honor our 15 new chiefs with a big round of applause!