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Former LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Is Running For Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks to supporters during an election night party at Quiet Cannon in Montebello on Nov. 8, 2022.
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Trevor Stamp for LAist
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It’s official. Former L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is running for the Board of Supervisors.
To win, though, he'll have to unseat incumbent Supervisor Janice Hahn, who has represented District 4 since 2016. Hahn's father, Kenneth Hahn, served as a supervisor for 40 years. Villanueva previously served as sheriff for three years, but lost his reelection bid last year against current Sheriff Robert Luna.
At his campaign launch in Whittier on Wednesday, Villanueva laid out his goals if elected: to tackle public safety, homelessness and what he said was rampant county corruption.
“It's all about the political class, and they anoint each other and support each other,” he said. “And they're spending $44 billion of your hard earned taxpayer dollars. And you have no idea where the money is being spent. Well, it's time to pull the curtain back and see what the Wizard of Oz is doing behind those curtains.”
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He said he will establish “a transparency promise” so the public can understand where money is being spent.
Villanueva frequently butted heads with the board of supervisors during his time as sheriff, accusing them of undermining his department.
When asked how he hoped to turn the district around in this election, Villanueva said he doesn't have to defend his record like Hahn does on things like homelessness and crime.
“The majority is up for reelection. If you're happy with what's going on today in LA, where the smash and grab, it's a life or death struggle just to go to the supermarket, if you're OK with that, please vote for all the incumbents and continue down that path,” he said.
When Villanueva ran for sheriff, he did so on the Democrat ticket promising to reform the largest sheriff’s department in the nation. But, at the helm, he rehired a deputy fired for being "unfit," refused to enforce a vaccine mandate and opened investigations on officials who criticized him, including Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
At his campaign launch, Villanueva said he will not be crossing party lines.
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“I have no plans to leave the Democratic Party," he said. "What I want to do is bring the Democratic Party back into the fold of where everyone is at."
Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Pro Tem John Cruikshank has also put his hat in the ring for the 4th District seat, running on a platform of public safety, homelessness, infrastructure and economic opportunity.
District 4, home to over 2 million people, covers the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Long Beach and the Gateway Cities.
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