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The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Monday ordered his attorney to draft an election measure proposal to give the agency the power to dismiss Sheriff Alex Villanueva after repeated clashes between the two sides.
The board voted 4-1, and supervisor Kathryn Barger cast the only vote against. The matter would still need the final approval of the board to be put before voters on November 8th. If approved, it would give the panel the power to remove an elected sheriff “for cause” with a four-fifths vote. Fox Los Angeles reported.
In a letter Monday to the board, Villanueva criticized the proposal, calling it a “recipe for corruption.” In addition, he said it would allow “board members to intimidate sheriffs into fulfilling their official functions to investigate the crime.”
“… It appears that you are acting as a judge, jury and executioner of the sheriff’s office, nullifying the will of the voters. This illegal motion seeks to undermine the role of the sheriff and subordinate the position to the Board of Supervisors “At first glance, the language proposed by the ordinance is not a proper reading of the law and will be challenged for these multiple reasons.”
POLICE SAY A PISTO ARMED IN ROBS THE LOS ANGELES BOOST AREA MOBILE SHOP
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says deputies are making arrests, but that the cases will “collapse” when they arrive at DA Gascon. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County supervisors asked voters to draft a proposal to give them the power to remove him from office. (Hans Gutknecht / MediaNews)
The move comes as Villanueva seeks a second term in office amid allegations that he has not done enough to address the gangs of deputies and has covered up an incident in prison in which a deputy allegedly knelt over an inmate.
He has also clashed with the board on several occasions over public safety funding and has rejected subpoenas to appear before the county Civil Oversight Commission.
The motion does not mention Villanueva by name, but states: “The current sheriff has been openly hostile to oversight and transparency and has tested the functionality of existing oversight structures by constantly resisting and obstructing these control and balance systems.”
On Friday, the Republican National Committee issued a statement calling the proposal “another excellent example of how Democrats like to change the rules when it doesn’t work out.”
“Sheriff Villanueva is not only an elected official, but he is one of the few who has been willing to confront the board to reduce law enforcement funding and effectively endanger the lives of Angelinos,” according to the RNC. “… This decision by the LA County Board of Supervisors would try to intimidate the elected sheriff into doing whatever he wants and it would once again be for a free and fair democracy, thanks to the California Democrats.”
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Fox News has contacted Villanueva.