Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva to run for LA County supervisor seat

Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced Tuesday night, Sept. 12 that he will run against Supervisor Janice Hahn in the March primary.

“County government is responsible for the health, safety and welfare of all the county residents. In that regard the board has failed miserably,” Villanueva told Fox11. “All you have to do is look at the news every day. You’re assaulted by images of violent crime, smash and grab robberies, senseless wanton violence.”

When asked how he can defeat Hahn, whose late father Kenneth was a supervisor from 1952-92 and who the Hall of Administration is named in his honor, Villanueva responded, “One thing for sure is she is no Kenneth Hahn. When he was serving a supervisor, there was a time of civility in county government, balance.

“Today, they’re so far to the left of center that no one can even recognize them. They do not represent the will of anyone, much less the residents of the Fourth District, so we’re going to bring this back to the middle.”

Janice Hahn was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 to represent the Fourth District, which now stretches from the Palos Verdes Peninsula to Long Beach and north to the southeastern Los Angeles County and the eastern San Gabriel Valley, including Huntington Park, Bell, Commerce, Pico Rivera, Whittier, and La Habra Heights.

There was no immediate response to an email sent late Tuesday night to Hahn campaign consultant Dave Jacobson seeking comment.

Villanueva was elected sheriff in 2018, upsetting then-Sheriff Jim McDonnell, but lost his bid for re-election in November to former Long Beach Police Department Chief Robert Luna.

Hahn and Villanueva are both Democrats. The Board of Supervisors, like all local government positions in California, is nonpartisan.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva concedes defeat to ex-Long Beach police chief Robert Luna