Dave Reichert
Dave Reichert (born in 1950) is the Representative of Washington's 8th Congressional District, a position he has held since January 2005. He previously served as the King County Sheriff from 1997 to 2004. He is a Republican.
Gary Ridgway and election to Congress
Dave Reichert was a leading member of the Green River Task Force, a group that was formed by the King County Sheriff's Department to track down the Green River Killer, who was eventually discovered to be Gary Ridgway. Reichert interviewed Ted Bundy with hopes of developing a profile of the serial killer. In 1997, Reichert was elected the Sheriff of King County, a position he held until 2004. During his tenure as King County Sheriff, Reichert finally ended the Green River Killer mystery with arrest of Ridgway. Reichert negotiated with Ridgway to tell him where the bodies of all his victims (in King County) were in exchange for not seeking the death penalty. Ridgway agreed and confessed to 48 murders.
In 2004, Jennifer Dunn announced she would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives in Washington's 8th Congressional District. Reichert announced his intention to seek the office, and won the Republican Primary.
With a reputation as the man who "solved" the Green River Killer case, as well as having been County Sheriff, Reichert had hero-status and high name-recognition. He narrowly won the November 2004 election over radio talk-show host Dave Ross (D), possibly due to his relationship with Gary Ridgway.
