Garcetti endorses McDonnell, Tanaka remains out of sight in LA County sheriff’s race

In the lopsided race for Los Angeles County Sheriff, Mayor Eric Garcetti Tuesday joined much of the political and law enforcement establishment when he endorsed Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell. 

Standing with McDonnell on the steps of City Hall, the mayor pointed across the street to LAPD headquarters. McDonnell once was second in command there. “Jim was able to lead this department out of a federal consent decree - exactly the kind of leadership we need now for the Sheriff’s Department,” Garcetti said.

The sprawling agency that runs the jails and provides policing to much of LA County faces multiple corruption and civil rights investigations. A federal grand jury has indicted 18 current and former sheriff’s officials. Six have been convicted.

“The LASD is at a critical and defining moment in time,” McDonnell said in accepting Garcetti’s support. “We need to get back to the basic idea of restoring the shine on the Sheriff’s badge.”

McDonnell is heavily favored in the race. He captured 49 percent of the vote in the primary. His opponent, former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka captured just 15 percent. In addition, federal investigators have said they are examining his role in the problems at the department.

Tanaka did not return calls for comment. He has all but disappeared from the campaign trail, with no public events scheduled and a brief resurfacing on Twitter to say he was "giving our supporters an opportunity to spend the summer with their families."

That’s a problem for voters, according to Jack Pitney, a professor of government at Claremont McKenna College.

“Everybody from the media to the average voter ought to be doing due diligence in an election,” Pitney said. “The danger with a non-competitive election is that people won’t do that due diligence.”

There have been plenty examples of candidates who seem to be “absolutely sterling” and ended up having “serious faults,” said Pitney.