Alex Villanueva

Alex Villanueva served as Sheriff of Los Angeles County from 2018 to 2022.¹ He served 36 years in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.² He retired as a lieutenant.¹ He previously served as a planning commissioner for La Habra Heights.³

He says the department faces a staffing crisis with roughly 3,000 sworn vacancies. He has proposed reducing deputy overtime and increasing staffing levels. He disputes the existence of deputy gangs. He frequently disagreed with the county Board of Supervisors and opened investigations into critics, including a Los Angeles Times reporter. He refused to comply with subpoenas regarding deputy gangs. After leaving office, a county panel placed him on a "do not rehire" list because it found he had violated policies on discrimination and harassment; he denied the allegation.^{4, 5, 6, 7}