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Yaroslavsky on Tensions Between L.A. County Supervisors and Sheriff

Zev Yaroslavsky, director of the Los Angeles Initiative at UCLA Luskin, was the guest speaker on the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy’s inaugural podcast “Then & Now.” Yaroslavsky, a former five-term member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, commented in the first episode, “Of Supervisors and Sheriffs: Who’s Running LA County’s Emergency Operations?” It focused on current and past relationships between board members and the county sheriff. “There is this ambiguity or conflict — however you want to look at it — structurally, as a rule, looking at Los Angeles County,” Yaroslavsky said. “Those are the typical disputes that you have, but they get resolved.” Host David Myers, professor of history and director of the Center for History and Policy, noted that L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was removed as head of the county’s Emergency Operations Center in March. He asked whether brewing tensions “could have consequences for the county’s ability to respond to the crisis at hand,” referring to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. “All units of the county are at their best in a time of crisis,” Yaroslavsky responded. He added that disputes between supervisors and the sheriff are not uncommon but added that he did not recall a conflict that questioned the fundamental authority of the board “or tried to go around the board of supervisors in implementing policies that were corrupt or illegal, as the case has been. And that’s where the current situation differs.”

Leap Questions Villanueva’s Plan to Overhaul Sheriff’s Department

Adjunct Professor of Social Welfare Jorja Leap spoke to the Los Angeles Daily News about newly elected L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Leap questioned whether Villanueva’s plan for a “truth and reconciliation” committee would be worth it. “Change is a delicate process that takes time and energy. To focus on what has already passed is questionable,” she said. “I would think the new sheriff would want to focus on the future.” Leap, director of the UCLA Health and Social Justice Partnership and co-founder of the Watts Leadership Institute, said she hopes Villanueva will use meaningful intention and collaboration when looking at the department’s needs. “He’s taking a lot of action, but [is it] really going to lead to the reform and transformation of the department?” Leap asked.


 

Outgoing Sheriff Lacked Political Savvy, Yaroslavsky Says

Director of the Los Angeles Initiative Zev Yaroslavsky spoke to the Los Angeles Times about Jim McDonnell’s defeat in the Los Angeles County sheriff race. Yaroslavsky supported incumbent McDonnell’s last two campaigns but commented on his lack of political savvy. “He didn’t have a political calculus, like in how to show empathy for constituencies that are being squeezed in our community,” Yaroslavsky said. “The immigrant community was not happy about the way the department was dealing with its relationship with ICE.” The article also cited Matt Barreto, faculty co-director of the UCLA Luskin-based Latino Politics and Policy Initiative, which measured Latino turnout in the November 2018 election.