This week’s California Report Magazine features the first episode of the new LAist Studios podcast, Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff.
In 2018, Alex Villanueva ran a long-shot campaign for LA County Sheriff, framing himself as a progressive reformer and underdog maverick He was a retired lieutenant with almost no leadership experience. But he ran a savvy campaign, winning the endorsements of the LA County Democratic party, the deputies union, and immigrants rights groups, as well as the votes of Angelenos critical of former President Trump and supportive of police reform.
But soon after taking office, Villanueva became embroiled in a series of scandals of his own making. He rehired a deputy fired for domestic violence and lying. He downplayed the severity of the department’s deputy gang problem. And he opened a criminal investigation into the inspector general who oversees the sheriff’s department — among other controversies.
In the latest season of Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff, Frank Stoltze, LAist’s civics and democracy correspondent, looks at Villanueva’s tenure as sheriff and asks: How could someone who ran as a progressive reformer end up as a darling of Fox News? How could LA County voters end up with someone so completely different from who they thought they were voting for?