Sgt. Jenny Sheahan-Lee again La Conner detachment chief

 

Sgt. Jenny Sheahan-Lee

The lineup at the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office La Conner detachment has been reshuffled.

But residents here will not need a program or scorecard to recognize who is in charge.

Sgt. Jenny Sheahan-Lee, assigned to La Conner between 2013-16, is returning, moving from supervisor of investigations.

Mayor Ramon Hayes well recalls Sheahan-Lee’s prior tenure here.

“Jenny did an excellent job,” Hayes told the Weekly News. “She’s very community-oriented and established a good rapport with everyone.”

Sheahan-Lee succeeds Lt. Jeff Willard, who won his promotion in January and is now at a desk in Mount Vernon.

A Burlington native who hails from a family with deep roots in law enforcement, Willard spent three years in La Conner, a time defined by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Willard and deputies under his charge worked the various property crimes – vandalism, graffiti tagging and theft, among them – that came with the virus crisis and a lengthy economic lockdown.

Town officials are not surprised that Willard, 52, received a promotion.

“La Conner was lucky to have Jeff serve the town,” said Town Administrator Scott Thomas. “He was responsive to the town’s law enforcement issues and was always professional in demeanor and creative in solving problems.”

Hayes agreed.

“Jeff is very poised and not one to get flustered. He’s done an excellent job of staying steady and professional. The sheriff’s office has been very deliberate about who they send to La Conner,” Hayes noted. “They try to find people who are a good fit. The sergeants we have received have been pretty near perfect and Jeff is no exception.”

With nearly 30 years in law enforcement, Willard has a strong background in community policing, most notably traffic patrol. He came by that naturally.

His dad, Terry Willard, retired as a Washington State Patrol motorcycle trooper assigned to Skagit and Snohomish counties.

His uncle, Dave Willard, helped pave the way for the younger Willard at the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office.

Praised for his outgoing, affable nature, Jeff Willard intends working another 10 years, now as salaried staff. He has traded four 10-hour shifts for five eight-hour days staffing the lieutenant’s desk Monday-Friday.

As with Sheahan-Lee, Willard was quite familiar with La Conner before his arrival. He patrolled locally on his motorcycle and worked the Tulip Festival and parades.

Everyone anticipates a smooth transition as Sheahan-Lee and Willard cross paths on La Conner-Whitney Road.

Sheahan-Lee also has a lengthy public safety and law enforcement resume, starting as a teen search and rescue volunteer.

Her second act in La Conner coincides with the launch of a new 15-year county law enforcement plan that centers the town on its radar. Hayes and Willard have said that blueprint involves a precinct, or satellite, system, with La Conner the westside anchor. This follows on the town signing a 2021 five-year police services contract.

Sheahan-Lee assures continuity and a level of performance that has come to be expected from the sheriff’s office.

“I have known several of the deputies who have served the town at one time or another,” Thomas said, “and I hold all of them in high regard.”

 

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