Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva won’t be given a second term, conceding Nov. 15 as the lead for his opponent former Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna continued to grow, according to the latest election results from the county registrar.
Villanueva, who was elected in November 2018, said he wanted to “wish the incoming sheriff well” and see him “succeed” during a press conference Tuesday.
“I want him to succeed for a simple reason—the safety of the community depends on him succeeding. The welfare of every single person in the department depends on him succeeding,” Villanueva said.
As of Tuesday, Luna leads with 60 percent of the vote with Villanueva’s nearly 40 percent.
During the June primary, Villanueva bested Luna 30.66 percent to 25.85 percent, forcing a Nov. 8 runoff, as neither candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote.
Luna was endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party and The Los Angeles Times, several labor unions, Democratic coalitions, and state leaders.
Luna said during the campaign that, if elected, he plans to “reform and modernize the sheriff’s department and jails” and ensure employee and deputy “wellness,” as well as address homelessness and property crime.
“Please know that as I stand before you this is my first campaign,” Luna told supporters at a campaign watch party election night. “We got to move forward with this. Change needs to occur, and that’s exactly what we did.”
During his concession, Villanueva blamed the loss on the media’s coverage of so-called deputy gangs, or “cliques,” within the sheriff’s department, which he has repeatedly denied.
“All of this, the whole thing on the deputy gangs, was literally a campaign strategy,” Villanueva said. “My four years in office, I can tell you this all four years we achieved something very important, because if you treat the county government like it is—a corrupt criminal enterprise—we pushed back and opened the window into the corruption of the county.”
Villanueva said the county fought “tooth and nail to have that window shut.”
“But we were able to keep it open for four years. We were successful [in] exposing the homeless industrial complex, the waste of money, the corruption, the fraud, and there’s so much more that needs to be learned. Will it be uncovered? I have my doubts with who’s in office now,” he said.
Over the last year, Villanueva and the county Board of Supervisors clashed repeatedly over issues including the county’s employee COVID-19 vaccine mandate after the sheriff refused to impose it on his deputies.
Villanueva also refused to appear before the county’s civilian oversight committee after being subpoenaed over the alleged deputy gangs. The county and the sheriff also clashed over what Villanueva claims are the supervisors’ efforts to defund the sheriff’s department.
“One thing I’ve learned, also speaking truth to power is not without risks,” Villanueva said. “And I remember a politician that I met early on, they said, they told me ‘Well, you can be a reformer, or you can be reelected ... pick one.’ I’m proud to say I’m a reformer. I have no desire to abandon my principles just to get reelected.”
“I want to thank every member of the department. I’m going to spend the next two weeks visiting the entire department thanking everybody,” he said tearfully. “They’re the true heroes.”
