LA County Supervisors Want to Control The Sheriff Position

[Ben]

This was interesting. The LA County board of supervisors passed a resolution for themselves for a ballot measure that if passed, would give them control over the Sheriff, another elected official. Sounds a little totalitarian to me.

For those not familiar, the LA County Sheriff, like many hispanics, has been ODing on red pills over the last couple of years.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/la-county-supervisors-approve-proposal-give-themselves-power-remove-sheriff-alex-villanueva

[MillCreek]

King County in Washington did the same thing by ballot in 2020.  The King County Sheriff is now appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council.

[WLJ]

And like most politically appointed officials it's party first and foremost.

[kgbsquirrel]

And like most politically appointed officials it's party first and foremost.

Hence why the Sheriff is independently elected.   Double ewe tea eff mates.

[tokugawa]

King County in Washington did the same thing by ballot in 2020.  The King County Sheriff is now appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council.

 By vote. It was unbelievable to me that people would voluntarily give up their right to select a sheriff.  Of course, WA is all mail in now, and election returns have been....odd. So maybe the vote was tilted.

[MechAg94]

I thought the Sheriff position was mandated by the state rather than created by the county leadership.  I guess it depends on how each state is set up. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriffs_in_the_United_States#:~:text=Unlike%20most%20officials%20in%20law,law%20enforcement%20qualifications%20of%20candidates.

Los Angeles County
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) serves Los Angeles County, California. With over 18,000 employees, it is the largest sheriff's department in the United States and provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, serving as the equivalent of the city police for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county who have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services (known as "contract cities" in local jargon). It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Los Angeles County, such as local parks, marinas and government buildings; provides marshal service for the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles; operates the county jail system; and provides services such as laboratories and academy training to smaller law enforcement agencies within the county.

I guess that is why they want control over that office.  18K employees.

[MechAg94]

From that same link, this is why I was thinking they couldn't mess with the sheriff.  Here that stuff is mandated by the Constitution.

The Texas Constitution (Article 5, Section 23) provides for the election of a sheriff in each one of the 254 counties. Currently, the term of office for Texas sheriffs is four years. However, when vacancies arise, the commissioners court of the respective county may appoint a replacement to serve out the remaining term.

[MillCreek]

By vote. It was unbelievable to me that people would voluntarily give up their right to select a sheriff.  Of course, WA is all mail in now, and election returns have been....odd. So maybe the vote was tilted.

https://kingcounty.gov/council/news/2021/March/3-26-JM-sheriff-statement.aspx

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/king-county-police-officers-guild-calls-for-sheriff-johanknecht-to-resign/281-d4361f0a-0df9-4bf4-8d92-d49f7b123289

Mitzi Johanknecht, the former KC Sheriff, lost the support of her troops and the KC Council as noted above and for some other reasons even earlier.  The KC Council decided an appointed sheriff would be more responsive to their concerns, and they pushed for the ballot measure.  It reminded me of the debate on should judges by appointed or elected since there are good arguments either way.

[Ben]

Mitzi Johanknecht, the former KC Sheriff, lost the support of her troops and the KC Council as noted above and for some other reasons even earlier.  The KC Council decided an appointed sheriff would be more responsive to their concerns, and they pushed for the ballot measure.  It reminded me of the debate on should judges by appointed or elected since there are good arguments either way.

I believe Sheriffs should be elected. If a jurisdiction wishes to change that to "appointed" via the ballot box, I guess that's their prerogative. My problem with the OP is that, unless I missed something, the Sheriff is still elected by the voters, but if the supervisors decide that if they don't like the decision of the voters, they get to override it. Kind of a slap in the face to people that voted THEM into office.

[Angel Eyes]

I wonder if the recent SCOTUS ruling on CCW was a factor, since the county sheriff is usually responsible for deciding who gets the permit and who doesn't.

[dogmush]

I think they are pissed about the COVID dancing.  Wasn't the LA county sheriff the one that refused to mandate the vaccine when the rest of Cali was going all in?

ETA:  Yep, I thought I remembered that:

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/la-west/coronavirus/2022/04/06/la-county-shifts-enforcement-of-covid-vaccine-mandate-in-sheriff-s-department

https://abc7.com/los-angeles-county-sheriff-department-covid-vaccine-mandate-board-of-supervisors/11713652/