Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva announces campaign for LA County Board of Supervisors

On Tuesday, Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced he will look to unseat Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn in next year's election. 

"The Board of Supervisors has a responsibility to provide for the health, safety and welfare of the county," Villanueva said during a press conference Wednesday. "In that regard, they have failed absolutely miserably."

Hahn was not available for an interview but her campaign released a statement calling the former Sheriff "a fraud and a failure" and that "LA County voters won't be fooled again."

"It's very important for Hahn, to retain and keep her seat, to remind voters the track record that Villanueva had as Sheriff," said Dr. Sara Sadhwani, a professor of political science at Pomona College.

Villanueva commanded the largest sheriff's department in the United States from 2018-2022. He became the second incumbent L.A. County Sheriff to be unseated in the last 105 years after losing his reelection bid to Robert Luna in last year's election. 

The former sheriff's crime fighting has caused controversy throughout the entire county. He's been accused of overstepping during homeless sweeps in Venice Beach, covering up jailhouse video of a deputy's knee on an inmate's neck and even accused of investigating his political rivals, climaxing in a raid of Supervisor Sheila Kuehl's home and office.

The raid stems from an investigation that centers on the claim that Kuehl helped steer contracts to her close friend, Patti Giggan's nonprofit. According to an affidavit released by the Sheriff's Department, a whistleblower submitted a complaint saying "the personal relationship between Kuehl and Giggans," among other factors, raised questions about a potential "conflict of interest." The affidavit said the MTA awarded a series of "sole source" contracts to Peace Over Violence, totaling more than $890,000. 

"There is no controversy at all surrounding the warrants," said Villanueva.

When asked about targeting his enemies Villanueva simply responded with "No, we target complaints of crime."

The embattled sheriff earned a divisive reputation for consistently butting heads with the Board of Supervisors. The tenuous relationship ultimately led to the governing body approving a measure to grant county officials the power to fire the Sheriff. Voters overwhelmingly ratified the legislation in last year's election.

"The Board of Supervisors, their goals and aspirations [are] to control all of county government," said Villanueva. "They do not want to have an independently elected Sheriff who can make their own independent decision."

His tenure has been marred by several lawsuits from his former employees alleging the department retaliated against them for whistleblowing.

Deputy unions that endorsed his initial bid to be Sheriff failed to back him during his re-election campaign.

"He very much lost support from some of the very established institutions," said Sadhwani.