Culp out of a job after Republic City Council votes to defund one-man police department

Republican challenger for Washington governor Loren Culp says he is out of a job after the city council voted to defund the department and contract with the county sheriff.

REPUBLIC, Wash. - Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp is out of a job as police chief in the eastern Washington town of Republic.

Culp, speaking live on his campaign's Facebook page Wednesday, told supporters that the Republic City Council voted to defund the one-person department while he was on the trail in the campaign's final days.

He said he was on a leave of absence so he could finish the campaign, something he said the mayor had approved.

The council, however, held a special meeting Oct. 30 to defund the department and contract with the Ferry County Sheriff's Office for law enforcement services. The sheriff's office had been filling in for Culp while he was on leave.

Culp said he served as a police officer for 10 years in Republic before becoming chief.

"Not even a letter of thank you, not even a plaque for 10 years of service, not, 'Hey Loren, thanks but we don't need you anymore,'" Culp said in the video. "They just voted to defund the police department, and away with that went my job."

He urged his followers to email the mayor of Republic and voice their concerns.

Culp also told supporters he is still not conceding the governor's race a day after the Associated Press called it for Governor Jay Inslee.

"We're not conceding," he said. "We're digging into the numbers. Something smells fishy."

Inslee had 60 percent of the vote as of Wednesday afternoon with roughly 75 percent of all votes counted in the state. He's the first incumbent elected to a third term in Washington state in more than 40 years.