The filing period ends Friday for most county, state and federal and offices in Los Angeles County on the June 2 primary ballot, including sheriff, where eight potential challengers have filed to run against Sheriff Robert Luna.
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva filed Thursday to run against the man who ousted him in 2022 after one term.
“I’m running because families deserve safe neighborhoods, because deputies deserve leadership that has their back, because the truth matters, and right now, too many in power are afraid to speak it,” Villanueva said in an approximately 3 1/2-minute video posted on YouTube.
“I can stay quiet, but I refuse to watch this county, our home, fall apart without standing up once more.”
Luna said since becoming sheriff, violent crime in the areas patrolled by the sheriff’s department has fallen every year, with homicides down by 25% since 2023.
Luna also cited an increase in the department’s clearance rates, the percentage of reported crimes that are solved, each year he has been in office, for both violent and property crimes and a 25% decrease in use of force by deputies since 2023.
Other challengers include retired sheriff’s Chief. Eric Strong, who finished third behind Villanueva and Luna in the 2022 primary; sheriff’s Sgt. Karla Carranza, who finished fifth in the field of nine in the 2022 primary; retired Assistant Sheriff Brendan Corbett; retired sheriff’s Capt. Mike Bornman; sheriff’s Lt. Oscar Martinez; sheriff’s gang detective Andre White; and Sonia Montejano, who served as a bailiff for the “Judge Joe Brown” and “Judge Judy” courtroom shows after being a senior deputy with the sheriff’s Court Services Division.
There will be two seats on the Board of Supervisors on the primary ballot.
With Supervisor Hilda Solis barred from running for re-election because of term limits, state Sen. MarÃa Elena Durazo, D-Los Angeles, is the favorite to replace her in the district that stretches from Hollywood to Pomona, north to Azusa and south to Diamond Bar.
Others who have filed for the race include Elaine Alaniz, a disaster recovery specialist who lost races for the Assembly and Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees in 2024, and women’s health advocate Noel Almario.
The other Board of Supervisors race on the ballot is for the Third District, where Supervisor Lindsey Horvath is seeking a second term representing large portions of the San Fernando Valley and Westside.
Realtor Tonia Arey describes herself as “unknown challenger” and “a lifelong community member committed to responsible leadership and real accountability.”
“The Pacific Palisades fire and its aftermath were a breaking point for me, not just because of the devastation, but because of the irresponsible and negligent way it was handled,” Arey wrote on her website. “There was no real accountability. No plan for the surrounding communities. And no urgency from those in power.”
Software engineer Tomas Sidenfaden has also filed to run.
No elected supervisor has been defeated for re-election since Baxter Ward in 1980, the year Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, who had been appointed to the board a year earlier, also lost her bid for a full four-year term.
Assessor Jeff Prang is seeking a fourth term. Property assessment specialist Stephen A. Adamus, appraiser/housing economist Rob Newland and tax consultant Steven B. Palty have also filed to run.
Solis is running for the open 38th Congressional District seat in Southeast Los Angeles County created by the passage of Proposition 50 in November. Pico Rivera Councilmember Monica Sanchez, a fellow Democrat, has also filed to run.
There will be no incumbent running in the 26th Congressional District, which straddles the Los Angeles-Ventura county border, due to the retirement of 73-year-old Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Thousand Oaks, who was first elected to the House in 2012.
Brownley has endorsed Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks, to succeed her.
The June 2 ballot will include primaries for governor, seven other statewide offices, four seats on the Board of Equalization, all of California’s 52 congressional seats, 20 of the 40 state Senate seats and all 80 seats in the Assembly.
The filing period will be extended to Wednesday for offices where no incumbent files, except for those where the incumbent cannot seek re-election because of term limits.
The top two candidates in all state and federal races will advance to the November general election, regardless of party. If no candidate receives a majority in the county races, which are all nonpartisan, the top two will meet in the general election.
The filing period to run for Superior Court judge was Jan. 26 through Feb. 4, which was extended to Feb. 9 for judgeships where the incumbent did not file to run for re-election.
The list of candidates to have qualified for the ballot will be released March 27, Mike Sanchez, the public information officer with the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office, told City News Service.