Mike Hawley left his office in a much different place than it was 12 years ago, when he first pinned on the badge of the Island County Sheriff.

Back then, things were a mess. The elected sheriff resigned after firing his second-in-command for sexual harassment. Lawsuits flew as members of the department took sides in the turmoil.

“There was a real loss of focus,” Hawley recalls. “The first two years of my term were spent refocusing the agency and trying to get back on track.”

Hawley, who chose not to run for office again, stepped down from the helm this month to return to work as a lieutenant on North Whidbey. New Sheriff Mark Brown inherited a modern, productive office known for being both open and responsive to the public.

Hawley’s legacy as sheriff will undoubtedly be as a stabilizing force. He was a steady hand during hard years of internal strife and major budget problems. At the same time, he oversaw a wholesale change in technology, communications and philosophy for law enforcement.

“Mike knew what to do and how to do it,” said Jan Smith, Hawley’s former chief administrative deputy and de facto second-in-command. “He was a reluctant hero. He returned stability and a sense of mission to the department, and the public’s trust.”

As his colleagues point out, 53-year-old Hawley is not your typical bureaucrat or peace officer. He’s a published author of two well-regarded police thrillers, a former high school teacher, a college professor, and the husband of a renowned quilt artist, M’Liss Hawley.

Former county prosecutor Bill Hawkins knew Hawley back when he was a road deputy and watched him rise through the ranks.

“The most striking and most lasting memory I have of him,” Hawkins said, “is the strength of character he showed when we went through some trying times.”

Of course, Hawley’s tenure wasn’t without controversy, from his lukewarm relationship with the current prosecutor to minor upheaval when deputies were caught misbehaving to lost grant money. But through it all, Hawley was upfront with the public.

Long before he lived on a scenic hazelnut farm in Freeland, Hawley grew up poor in what he calls a “dysfunctional family” in the somewhat-mean streets of Seattle. His parents divorced when he was very young. His mother was hit by a drunk driver — a doctor, in fact — and was permanently disabled when he was in elementary school, forever changing their lives.

Instead of a life of crime, Hawley went the other way. He became a high school history teacher before joining the Island County Sheriff’s Office nearly 20 years ago. During those years, Hawley served in just about every position a commissioned officer can — including a road deputy, detective and jail manager.

As prosecutor, Hawkins said he quickly learned that Detective Hawley was a person in the Sheriff’s Office he could turn to for the real scoop on a criminal incident, regardless of the political implications.

“He showed tremendous strength of character,” Hawkins said.

Hawley was the undersheriff under Sheriff Bill Norton, but was effectively demoted after Norton lost the race to Owen Burt.

But Burt didn’t last long. He decided to resign amid internal strife over his firing of Chief Bob Gardner, who was accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment, as well as a plethora of lawsuits, threats of lawsuits, investigations into employee misconduct, and other labor issues.

Hawley was appointed sheriff in December of 1996, but had to run for office the following year and again the year after that.

It was also a time of universal change and maturity in law enforcement.

“Twenty years ago, it was a men’s club,” Hawley said. “You would walk into the men’s room and there would be Playboy pin-ups. All of law enforcement has changed for the better.”

The secret of his success, the former sheriff said, was taking a holistic approach to problem solving and to promote a sort of customer service. That may sound like a bunch of fancy-talk, but Hawley explained that he wanted his personnel to look at what and why they’re doing something and see if it answers one simple question: “Does it make the citizens feel safer?”

“There was a real philosophical revamping,” he said. “Our true mission is to make people feel safe. How you do law enforcement is as important as doing law enforcement.”

Following this philosophy, Hawley targeted both sex crimes and domestic violence as high priorities. Over the years, he spoke at over 1,000 well-attended community meetings whenever a high-risk sex offender moved into a neighborhood. He was also known for being tough on registered sex offenders, often rating them at a higher risk than the state did.

Hawley worked with the leadership at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station to allow his department to handle domestic violence and other cases in base housing that lies in the county. This means domestic abusers will be handled under state laws, which are much tougher on wife beaters than federal law — which has no domestic violence statutes.

“This is the only place in the nation where military people will be arrested by sheriff’s deputies,” he said.

Over the last decade, law enforcement across the nation has undergone a technological transformation, and Island County was no different. When Hawley took over, the office had no computers or cell phones. The Sheriff’s Office had its own dispatch center separate from other emergency responders on the island.

“Dispatchers were literally taking down information with paper and pencil,” Hawley explained.

Hawley spearheaded an effort to create one central dispatch center for all law enforcement, fire departments and ambulances on the island. The result is the I-COM dispatch center.

In the midst of all this, Tim Eyman struck. Beginning in 2000, voter-approved initiatives sucked funding from local governments, and consequently, law enforcement.

Hawley had to deal with serious budget shortfalls. He cut popular non-essential programs, like the SWAT team, DARE and the marine safety program. The sheriff’s rescue boat has been mothballed for years. Many positions had to go unfilled.

In fact, Hawley handed the new sheriff, Mark Brown, an office that was fully staffed for the first time in a long time.

During lean times, Hawley had to be creative to even continue providing 24-hour coverage in the county.

“He has a practical, clever approach to problem solving, and can make a tax dollar stretch further than anyone I know,” Smith said. “His brilliance lies in his innate ability to grasp the big picture, and know what to do about it.”

Hawley was an ardent advocate for his office when he asked for more money each year from his fellow Republicans on the county board of commissioners. He didn’t always get what he wanted — and wasn’t shy about being critical of the commissioners — but he did get their respect.

“To put it very blunt, he was a very good sheriff,” Commissioner Mike Shelton said. “He had the trust of the community and I think he could have been sheriff as long as he wanted to be sheriff. I’m a Mike Hawley fan.”

Somehow Hawley found time to teach as an adjunct professor of criminal justice for Chapman University at a satellite college located at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. He’s served on state boards, most recently as presiding officer for the state’s Peace Officer Certification Board. This appointment was made by his peers and underscores his professional reputation outside of the county.

More glamorously, Hawley wrote two mystery novels in his spare time. “Double Bluff” and “Silent Proof,” which follow two Seattle Police officers. They were published by a major publisher.

Hawley has his own Web site, www.murderhewrites.com, and plans to spend more time writing in the future.

Hawley may still be able to gather more material for his books when he drives the roads of North Whidbey and responds to calls as a lieutenant, supervising 10 deputies.

He chose not to run for sheriff because he knew that he may not have four more years in him. Besides, he wants to spend more time with his family. Hawley and his wife M’Liss Rae have a son, Alexander, in the Marine Corps who fought house-to-house in the most dangerous areas of Iraq and daughter Adrienne in AmeriCorps.

“I’m really looking forward to being out there on the front lines again with deputies,” Hawley said.