The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors discussed several options to remove or impeach Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva during their regular meeting Tuesday.
The suggestion to remove Villuneva, the 33rd Sheriff of L.A. County, began back in September of 2020 when Civilian Oversight Commission (COC) member Robert Bonner, a former U.S. Attorney and Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator, called on Villanueva to step down.
“It’s with great reluctance that I’m calling for Sheriff Villanueva to resign,” Bonner said in a statement. “I don’t take this step lightly. I only do so because it’s become apparent that he has demonstrated on occasions that he lacks the judgment needed to be the sheriff and he’s unable to provide the leadership needed by the sheriff’s department.”
The commission expressed doubt over the sheriff’s version of events leading to the filmed takedown and arrest of Josie Huang, a reporter covering a protest for racial injustice. Members of the commission also criticized Villanueva’s handling of the deputies who inappropriately took photos of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash scene and shared them with the media last January, resulting in public backlash.
“I believe we have a responsibility to act,” said newly-elected Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who supports Villanueva’s removal.
County staff presented four options for how Villanueva could potentially be removed from office on Tuesday:
- Amending the County Charter, — a decision voted on by county residents.
- Recalling Villanueva — Begins with a request to recall with 20 resident signatures being published in a newspaper with reasoning for recall. A proponent will have 160 days to present this and prove the signatures are valid, then a recall election will be held.
- Acquisition — Hold a jury trial involving the D.A. in which Villanueva will have to appear before a court. They would try to convict him on willful or corrupt misconduct, but those terms are undefined. If he is convicted, he will be recalled. If he pleads guilty or even refuses to answer, he will be convicted.
- “Quo Warranto” — The Attorney General files a forced removal from office after conviction of crimes like bribery or unlawfully holding judgment. This would be judged by state statute in a trial.
See Related: L.A. County Board Of Supervisors Take Step Towards Removing Sheriff Villanueva
The Board also discussed possibly changing the position of L.A. County Sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position. However, this option would require both the County Charter and State Constitution to be amended. This would have to be approved by voters and an Act of Legislature would have to be approved by both the State Senate and State Assembly.
Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger has stood against the potential recall for several months, citing issues of voter rights and representation of residents’ concerns.
“We were each elected to serve the community, not take voting power from the people,” Barger said at Tuesday’s meeting. “It is important to the community to have access to the information, and if illegal action is proven we are happy to go through the process.”
During a press conference back in September, Villanueva said that the COC was overstepping its role, calling them a “political body appointed by the Board of Supervisors,” and has repeatedly clashed with them on budget and other issues.
A motion was presented and ultimately delayed by the L.A. County Board Of Supervisors back in October.
“Given the recent but persistent refusal to provide the transparency and accountability that the community rightly demands, the County should consider whether the status of the Sheriff’s office should be reexamined in order to better serve the more than 10 million residents of the County,” the motion read. “Under the current Sheriff, hard-fought vital progress is being undone, and community trust is rapidly eroding.”
Authored by then-Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and current Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, the motion instructs the County Counsel to work to find “options for removing or impeaching,” Villanueva, as well as make “legislative changes required to potentially remove certain existing responsibilities of the Sheriff,” and report back within 30 days.
The motion was originally placed on the agenda for the board’s Oct. 27 meeting, but was pushed back to Nov. 10 in order to give the supervisors adequate time to review it.
The motion was then approved, with Ridley-Thomas, Kuehl, and Hilda Solis voting in favor, and Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn voting against the motion.
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