Washtenaw County Sheriff Alyshia Dyer faces scrutiny following a recent $2.7 million budget shortfall in her department. After approving a $1.7 million backfill, commissioners told Dyer she needs to find ways to make up the remaining hole. Dyer was not happy, a sentiment she quickly took to her supporters.
Dyer’s problematic management is not limited to the budget. The Washtenaw County Commissioners have placed her HR department under County supervision, citing “widespread reports of misconduct and detrimental internal operations.”
Her response to the oversight reveals the poverty of progressivism when it must move beyond sloganeering.
The conflict spilled onto social media as Dyer fired back at commissioners. In a fundraising email, Sheriff Dyer told supporters that “commissioners have been proposing ‘lockdowns’ in the jail to cut costs and balance the County budget.”
County Commissioner Justin Hodge responded on Facebook: “Budget deficits are serious policy challenges, not fundraising opportunities.”
“We believe it is possible to find 2% in operational efficiencies without compromising human dignity,” Hodge wrote.
Several commissioners were clear that they wanted to discuss lockdowns as a potential measure to address budget overruns. A significant part of Dyer’s budget problems come from overtime payouts in the jail.
Jail inmates are confined to their cells during lockdowns, which, in addition to regularly scheduled lockdowns through a typical day, occur for safety concerns (fights, the discovery of contraband) or staffing shortages. To prevent longer lockdowns when staffing is insufficient, Sheriff Dyer’s administration has offered overtime to fill the gap.
During a meeting on Nov. 19, Commissioner Caroline Sanders said: “Maybe there’s not full freedom seven days a week–maybe it’s five days a week.”
“Jail is jail. It is not a vacation. I believe we could put in place lockdowns two to three days a week, preferably on the weekends, whenever it’s not the highest visitation,” said Commissioner Crystal Lyte.
Dyer herself set the stage for the heated lockdown conversation. Dyer made clear in a budget presentation delivered to county commissioners that the sheriff’s office has to “mandate overtime” or “lockdown the jail.”
Dyer attributed significant increases in overtime costs to a decrease in lockdowns from 2024 to 2025, stating that there were 13 lockdowns in 2025 compared to 31 in 2024. Dyer also said that Washtenaw County incarcerated the fewest people per capita in the state, raising questions about her own ability to stretch dollars even in favorable conditions.
Sheriff Dyer’s refusal to compromise on jail lockdowns for budgetary reasons has been undermined by her own jail administrator, who confirmed that the sheriff’s office regularly uses various forms of lockdown.
Commander Kurt Schiappacasse made clear that the Sheriff’s Office does engage in lockdowns, including intermittent lockdowns, some planned and some unplanned. Schiappacasse’s clarification calls into question Dyer’s hard-line rhetoric.
“We are not balancing the County budget with human suffering. Not now. Not ever,” Dyer said.
Dyer’s predicament does not end with her budget woes. Alleged failures in her office may be a serious liability for the county. On Dec. 3, commissioners voted to remove HR duties from the sheriff’s office and place them under the county’s control.
In the resolution that passed, commissioners stated that “the current handling of personnel matters within the Sheriff’s Office reflects deeply poor judgment, inconsistent treatment of employees and violations of the County’s workplace Standards.”
Commissioners, while saying that they could not reveal additional details, added, “the Board is deeply concerned by widespread reports of misconduct and detrimental internal operations within the Sheriff’s Office’s internal HR function, including but not limited to allegations of intimidation, punitive retaliation, and a systemic breakdown of employee confidence.”
After learning of the plan to remove HR from her oversight, Sheriff Dyer issued a defiant statement, claiming the move was an attempt to undermine her leadership.
“I was elected as your Sheriff to implement a vision for a safer, more just, and more compassionate Washtenaw County. Commissioner Justin Hodge’s plan, announced via social media, is the latest attempt to thwart that vision,” Dyer wrote.
She concluded with an allegation: “The Sheriff’s Office will not be intimidated by threats to circumvent the will of The People and violate our Michigan Constitution. My office’s mandate is to serve the residents of Washtenaw County, and that will continue, undeterred, and without fear.”
On December 23, Sheriff Dyer handed the county an early Christmas present: She’s suing them to get her HR department back. No matter who wins, it seems taxpayers are set to lose as liabilities reportedly mount along with legal costs.
Arguments from Dyer supporters alleging political motivation and personal animosity seem unfounded. For instance, Hodge, now a target of Sheriff Dyer, actually contributed to the sheriff’s campaign, according to a campaign finance report.
Furthermore, Commission Chair Katie Scott reported making multiple attempts to meet with Dyer that had been cancelled or rebuffed. If anything, Dyer is the official engaging in personal attacks.
Dyer’s line of attack exposes the limitations of her progressivism. Progressives tend to create a caricature of a complex issue while claiming to speak for society as a whole.
Dyer claims to speak for “The People” and yet by doing so excludes the perspectives of elected leaders right in front of her eyes, ignoring their values, experiences, and the people who voted for them, in favor of a progressive savior narrative.
Progressivism, by its very nature, must claim the moral high ground, yet it cannot escape the same human failings that shape most people. Dyer, for instance, attempts to position herself as a champion for society’s most vulnerable, centering the inmates in her custody.
Former UAW President Bob King, who weighed in to support Sheriff Dyer on December 3, expressed concerns that Washtenaw County Democrats were on a path to becoming a “circular firing squad.” It was hardly a ringing endorsement of progressive government.
Ultimately, the ideological skirmish at the County has resulted in tangible failures: a $2.7 million budget hole and the effective loss of control over Dyer’s HR. For Washtenaw County residents, the poverty of progressive theory has become a costly administrative reality.
Jake Altman is a former union official and the author of Socialism before Sanders: The 1930s Moment from Romance to Revisionism.
