Voters choosing Los Angeles County sheriff from field of nine candidates – Daily News

Tonight the one who might be in line to move Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will develop into extra clear because the ballots are counted for the Tuesday June 7 Election Day major.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva — who has fought along with his bosses on the L.A. Board of Supervisors and journalists alike — will attempt to greatest a number of challengers nipping at his heels, together with a pair of his personal subordinates, the LAX chief of police and the previous prime cop from town of Long Beach.

Complete election protection right here

Nine candidates together with the sheriff are on the first poll. They are: Sheriff Villanueva; Cecil Rhambo, chief of police for LAX; Robert Luna, Long Beach’s police chief from 2014 till he retired in December; Eliezer “Eli” Vera, who has accused the sheriff of demoting him after he determined to run; Britta Steinbrenner, a just lately retired sheriff’s captain and 35-year veteran of the division; Sheriff’s Sgt. Karla Yesenia Carranza; Sherrif’s Lt. Eric Strong; April Saucedo Hood, a parole agent; and retired Sheriff’s Capt. Matt Rodriguez.

If the sheriff wins a majority of tonight’s vote (50% plus one vote), he’ll achieve re-election. If nobody wins a majority, then the highest two vote-getters sq. off within the common election on Nov. 8.

Villanueva, first elected in 2018, has been entangled in a sequence of controversies, together with the presence of  “deputy gangs” present throughout the division.

He has been accused of investigating his political enemies and blasting journalists who’ve written about controversies throughout the division. His feud with the L.A. Board of Supervisors resulted within the board members calling on him to resign in September 2020. But the board was unsuccessful in its try to take away a publicly elected official from office.

In every case, Villanueva has denied wrongdoing. Villanueva might have attracted dangerous press, however he additionally has a $1.8 million struggle chest, greater than six instances that of his subsequent closest opponent.

Villanueva in an article on May 24, stated his fundamental priorities embody hiring extra sworn and non-sworn workers and addressing homelessness. “We will work in collaboration with the new mayor of Los Angeles and the new Board of Supervisors,” he stated, “and we’re going to resolve this homelessness crisis once and for all.”

Los Angeles County had 66,436 individuals with out everlasting shelter in 2020, in response to an annual survey of the homeless inhabitants.

Robert Luna, who spent 37 years with the Long Beach PD, revised its use-of-force insurance policies in 2020. But some locally challenged Luna for not backing different reforms following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Luna stated he desires to work on decreasing violent and property crimes by neighborhood engagement and social companies.

Eliezer Vera, as soon as a detailed affiliate of Villanueva’s, stated he was demoted from the division’s Technology and Support Division to commander when he threw his hat within the ring. Villanueva denied his allegation.

Vera has criticized the sheriff for his dealing with of the deputy gangs situation. He says he desires to revive public confidence within the division.

Cecil Rhambo, at the moment chief of the Los Angeles Airport Police Division, beforehand spent three a long time within the Sheriff’s Department. He has stated he desires to handle deputy gangs and gradual the rise of murders and shootings in LA County.

Eric Strong has a protracted record of priorities, together with a pledge to push options to incarceration by diverting individuals with drug habit to alternate applications. He has additionally pledged to extend transparency within the  division.

Britta Steinbrenner, a just lately retired sheriff’s captain, additionally decried Villanueva’s conduct, and like others, promised to convey extra transparency to the office and restore belief with elected officers and neighborhood teams. She stated a  resolution to the problems on the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station was to easily tear it down.

She helps extra neighborhood policing, comparable to including deputies on foot and bicycle patrols and constructing higher relationships with colleges, companies and neighborhood organizations.

Matt Rodriguez, a retired sheriff’s captain, stated he’s the one conservative Republican within the formally nonpartisan race. He signed a petition to recall Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, and stated he helps turning over undocumented immigrants convicted of violent felonies to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation.

April Saucedo Hood, on her web site, listed her priorities as enhancing accountability, belief and transparency, and collaborating with the Board of Supervisors.

Contributing author Victoria Johnson added to this text.