Luna faces off against ex-Sheriff Villanueva in crowded primary rematch - BERITAJA

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna unseated his predecessor Alex Villanueva successful a hard-fought run 4 years ago. Next week, Villanueva hopes to return the favor.

Villanueva is 1 of 7 candidates challenging Luna’s hopes for a 2nd word successful Tuesday’s primary. Also making a return quality is Eric Strong, a retired sheriff’s lieutenant who came successful 3rd successful the 2022 primary.

If nary campaigner gets a mostly successful the primary, the apical 2 vote-getters will quadrate disconnected Nov. 3.

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna pinch reporters past twelvemonth aft 3 group were killed successful an detonation astatine the Sheriff Department’s Biscailuz Center Training Academy.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

The electoral confrontation betwixt Luna and Villanueva, the apical money draws successful this year’s packed primary, has echoes of their showdown successful November 2022. Luna garnered much than 61% of the countywide ballot to conclusion Villanueva, who drew little than 39% of votes.

There has been nary publically released polling connected this year’s sheriff’s race. But a value of life study conducted betwixt March 15 and 29 asked 1,400 group crossed L.A. County about the sheriff.

Luna’s favorability successful that yearly index, produced by the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs successful business pinch the California Community Foundation, was 48%, up from 37% successful 2023. His unfavorability, meanwhile, has stayed dependable betwixt 21% and 26% passim his comparatively scandal-free tenure arsenic sheriff.

Luna’s biggest guidelines of support, the study found, was among Latinos, 55% of whom reported a favorable position of him, versus conscionable 39% of whites.

Luna worked for the Long Beach Police Department for 36 years, including a seven-year stint arsenic its first Latino chief, earlier winning predetermination to helm the nation’s largest sheriff’s section successful 2022.

In an interview, Luna said his way grounds demonstrates why he’s the champion prime for sheriff. Since Luna took office, he noted, convulsive crime has fallen each twelvemonth and he has brought homicides down by 25%.

“No 1 moving moreover comes adjacent to maine successful my acquisition for leadership, guidance moving 2 ample departments,” he said. “And past my accomplishments — nary 1 could moreover clasp a candle to those.”

As Luna intends to show that he has been an effective leader, Villanueva tells a acold different story. In an interview, Villanueva painted a image of a Sheriff’s Department successful terrible decline.

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva arrives to attest about lawman gangs earlier the county’s Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission successful 2024.

(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Villanueva said the section has thousands of vacancies that Luna is struggling to capable because of his “toxic leadership” arsenic sheriff.

“The Sheriff’s Department is successful a tailspin,” the erstwhile sheriff said. “It’s collapsing correct earlier our eyes and the constitution wants to dress everything is OK, but it’s successful full chaos and dysfunction.”

Luna defended his recruitment and retention grounds and said the section is operating acold much smoothly coming than it ever did nether Villanueva.

His run provided Sheriff’s Department statistic that showed the section — which employs about 18,000 group — made 1,017 sworn hires nether Luna from 2023 to 2025, 201 less than it made nether Villanueva from 2020 to 2022.

But that spread was counterbalanced, according to the data, by the truth that the section mislaid 204 much sworn labor to attrition nether Villanueva than it did nether Luna complete the aforesaid periods.

Although “every ample agency successful the United States is struggling pinch retention,” Luna said, Villanueva is “saying each these group didn’t want to travel aliases wanted to leave. That is not actual and the numbers beryllium that.”

Then-L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva speaks astatine a news convention successful 2022.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Villanueva besides called Luna “a puppet” of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. “He’s conscionable portion of the far-left schedule of the board,” the erstwhile sheriff added. “He’s not a law-and-order sheriff who’s going to heighten nationalist safety.”

Luna said he has a “very bully narration pinch the board.” That relationship, he said, has allowed for amended practice pinch the region than nether Villanueva — who mislaid a bid for Supervisor Janice Hahn’s spot successful 2024 and whose interactions pinch the supervisors were often combative — erstwhile he was sheriff.

All 5 supervisors person endorsed Luna’s candidacy, on pinch the L.A. County Chief Police Chiefs Assn., the L.A. County Federation of Labor, and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).

This month, Luna picked up the endorsement of 1 of 2 unions for members of the Sheriff’s Department, the Assn. for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, aliases ALADS, which lauded Luna’s “professionalism, integrity and commitment.” In 2022, the national endorsed Villanueva.

“They admit the truth that I’m taking the section successful a different way, the accountability, the responsibility,” Luna said of ALADs. “They’re not getting their asses handed to them each time successful the media, for illustration they were nether Alex.”

This cycle, Villanueva’s database of nationalist endorsements is not arsenic heavy arsenic it was 4 years ago. But it includes the L.A. County Republican Party, the Los Angeles School Police Assn. and much than a twelve members of the authorities Assembly, mayors and members of aggregate metropolis councils.

Capt. Mike Bornman, who has decades of acquisition astatine the Sheriff’s Department he is now vying to run, said “this run has ever been about restoring assurance successful the Sheriff’s Department and putting nationalist information first. I proceed to judge that voters are looking for experienced, dependable activity that is focused connected results, accountability, and safer communities.”

Luna’s run spent about $515,000 from April 19 to May 16, acold outstripping those of his challengers, records show. Luna’s run reported successful its May 16 run finance filing that it raised much than $103,000 complete the play and that he still had much than $326,000 disposable to walk successful the campaign’s location stretch.

At little than $91,000, Villanueva’s run raised the second-most money this year, about $18,000 of which came successful from April 19 to May 16, erstwhile location was about $103,000 near successful the erstwhile sheriff’s warfare chest.

The run for Eric White, a Compton-raised detective pinch about 12 years’ acquisition astatine the department, reported raising about $19,000 successful that aforesaid period, the second-most of each the candidates, according to its filing. That near his run pinch about $7,500 aft spending almost $22,000 during the period.

The different challengers struggled to raise money during that period.

Strong brought successful about $2,300 and spent little than $16,000, leaving him pinch about $19,000. Brendan Corbett, who was adjunct sheriff for custody operations nether Villanueva, brought successful $1,000 and spent about $1,300 successful that aforesaid period, erstwhile his run reported that it had about $32,000 connected hand.

Bornman’s run brought successful about $1,900 and spent $2,900 successful the period, leaving him pinch much than $13,000 to spend.

U.S. Marine Corps seasoned Oscar Martinez, who has worked successful the Sheriff’s Department aft fighting successful Iraq and Afghanistan, reported having little than $5,500 near connected May 16. His run spent about $500 and brought successful little than $50 from April 19 to then.

Sgt. Karla Carranza, who has worked for the section for much than 2 decades and besides ran for sheriff successful 2022, reported having about $600 connected manus connected April 19. Her run did not look to person revenge a study for the May 16 filing period, according to L.A. County run finance records.