Alameda County sheriff-elect worries transition of power will not be smooth
Sheriff-Elect Sanchez says Sheriff Ahern has yet to call her
ELECTION 2022
ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF
—AHERN IS GHOSTING SANCHEZ—Alameda County Sheriff-Elect Yesenia Sanchez says she is worried the “smooth transition” promised by Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern in his concession letter last week will not come to fruition. Sanchez says Ahern has yet to communicate with her after a June primary election, in which she won an historic upset victory over the long-time sheriff.
—“I’m definitely worried that it won’t be smooth,” Sanchez said. “Of course, and if things will be kind of—I don’t know I want to say destroyed—but I’ll walk into an office and it will be empty with nothing in there. That is what I’m definitely trying to avoid. The fact that he has not communicated with me is worrisome.” Sanchez made the comments to members of the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee last week. As of Tuesday night, Ahern has still not called, she said.
—“I’m hoping that we have a smooth transition of power between myself and the sheriff. It is my hope that I can work with him to see how we can do the transition together.” She paused before adding, “I’m hopeful, but I’m not really sure how that’s going to look like right now to be honest with you. We’re just going to have to see how it goes.”
—“Until January 2023, it’s still his boat,” she added. It’s still his facility. It’s still his sheriff’s office to lead.” Sanchez, who serves as commander at Santa Rita Jail, said she fears Ahern might appoint a replacement without her input. “Those are definitely possibilities. If it’s someone who I do not believe will able to fulfill the role, in January, I can just reverse that and take it all back,” she said…
MORE INSIDE:
More on Sanchez’s plans for ICE, Santa Rita Jail, internal affairs
ALCO Dems primary spending got bang for the buck
Swalwell’s QAnon opponent complains about county’s voting system
Just cause in unincorporated ALCO?
—Earlier, Sanchez referenced Ahern’s concession letter that simply congratulated the new sheriff-elect, but did not mention her name. “He failed to mention who the individual was that won the election, but I won’t hold that against him.” she said with a laugh.
—First on Sanchez’s to-do list is to organize a countywide “listening tour,” she said. “I think it will be helpful so that I am aware of what has been going on in the communities and things that I have not been exposed to, or at least, information that has not been shared with me in my position so far,” she said.
—Some quick, but notable policy changes also top her list, she said, including signing a previous Board of Supervisors resolution that Ahern resisted to support that calls for sheriff’s personnel to only interact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if there is a criminal warrant out for an individual’s arrest. “Just like they do with any other law enforcement agency,” Sanchez said.
—There will be no favoritism in investigations of sheriff’s deputies for misconduct, she said. “Any allegations of misconduct will be evaluated by our internal affairs unit. All influence will be eliminated from our chain of command.” Internal affairs will work autonomously and present their findings to Sanchez once complete, she said. “It does not occur that way right now and I think that is what you see as far as our excessive payouts related to excessive force and misconduct in years past. That’s a big task for our internal affairs unit because they are going to be receiving a lot of a work load when this change comes into effect. I think it’s absolutely instrumental to holding our staff accountable.”
—Sanchez said she’s currently working with the Alameda County District Attorney’s office to help divert mentally ill inmates from the jail to access to treatment. “It’s not because they are violent,” Sanchez said of inmates. “It’s not because they have an intent in the crimes they are committing. They’re committing crimes because they don’t have the capacity to understand that they are committing a crime.”
—Improving the atmosphere and safety at Santa Rita Jail is also a top priority, she added. Part of the strategy is to identify leaders in the office who can fulfill her vision for the jail. “There is definitely some young leadership in the agency that are chomping at the bit to be a part of this movement, this change, and this shift in culture and the way we treat this jail population.”
—“Not only quality service, but quality service to the human beings in our custody and making sure we are treating their family members and loved ones equally and respectfully.” Sanchez said she’s looking for individuals who can work in partnership with public health, county, judges, the public defenders office, and do so with compassion and appreciation of the jail.
ALAMEDA COUNTY DEMOCRATS
—DEMS STRUTTING—Alameda County Democrats are still pumped about their role in helping Yesenia Sanchez defeat their hated rival, Alameda County Sheriff Greg Ahern.
—The county Democratic Central Committee spent just $27,000 to back its slate of endorsed candidates, which the committee’s Chair Igor Tregub noted went undefeated at the polls this primary season. "We got a lot of bang for collective buck," he said last week. Most of the committee’s expenditures have already been replenished, he added.
—The spending focused on three mailers touting the local party’s endorsed candidates, but also focused on Measure B in Alameda, Rebecca Kaplan’s supervisorial campaign, and in South County for Assemblymember Alex Lee and 10th State Senate District candidate Aisha Wahab. Robocalls were also employed by the central committee during the primary.
—More than 84,500 texts were also sent, including 76,000 for Sanchez. Cheryl Cook-Kallio, who won the Alameda County Board of Education race in Area 7, received 16,000. “Thank you very much and I will be sending you check,” Cook-Kallio told central committee members while showing no indication the comment could be perceived by some as a quid pro quo.
14TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
—OLD DOMINION—East Bay GOP congressional candidate and QAnon adherent Alison Hayden is questioning the validity of Alameda County’s primary election vote-counting process, primarily its use of Dominion Voting System’s as its vendor. The company was falsely blamed by President Donald Trump and supporters like Rudy Giuliani for fraudulently overturning the 2020 Presidential Election, and has been the target of the far-right ever since.
—Hayden is Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Republican challenger in this November's General Election. She also faced Swalwell in the 2020 fall election. Hayden told the Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that the county’s Registrar of Voters’ office threatened to boot her from an area on primary night created for observing the vote-counting process. Hayden said she was rebuffed after questioning specific aspects of the process as suspicious.
—Included in Hayden’s comments was criticism of the county’s use of Lenovo laptops, which she pointedly noted is Chinese-made.
—If there was indeed shenanigans involved in Alameda County’s voting-counting process it did little to affect Hayden either way. She finished more than 64,000 votes behind Swalwell (53 percentage points) in the June primary, but advanced to November by topping the third-place finisher by just over 1,000 votes.
—Dominion Voting Systems will be around county politics for some time. In late 2018, the county signed a long-term, $23.7 million contract with the vendor that runs through the 2029. The initial purchase was $10 million, and replaced voting equipment that was deemed by the registrar to have reached the end of its useful life. The county pays Dominion $1.2 million annual for licensing and warranty costs through 2029.
COUNTY NEWS
—JUST CAUSE PROPOSED—Alameda County Supervisors Nate Miley and Dave Brown will hear a proposed just cause ordinance for unincorporated Alameda County at the board’s Unincorporated Services Committee on Wednesday night.
—The proposed ordinance would expand state law and extend protections to single-family homes not occupied by the owner, units built in the last 15 years, and renters living in their units for less than 12 months. It also prohibits evictions for teachers, students and their families during the school year.
—PRIDE EVERY MONTH—Following the attempt by the Proud Boys to disrupt a LGBT Pride event at the San Lorenzo Public Library two weeks ago, Alameda County Supervisor Dave Brown announced his office is partnering with the Alameda County Libarry to hold an “Every Month is Pride Month” event once a month at the location through June 2023. Brown’s District 3 includes unincorporated San Lorenzo.