Reform is key issue in sheriff’s races

Incumbents in Alameda, Contra Costa counties facing first contested campaigns for reelection

Voters in the East Bay will encounter a rarity on their ballots in June: A choice for sheriff.

For the first time since the mid1980s, an Alameda County sheriff is facing opposition in the race to become the county's top lawman — a challenge that this year could see the first woman in the county elevated to the post. A similar dynamic is playing out in neighboring Contra Costa County, where a police union boss is campaigning to unseat three-term sheriff David Livingston.

The races underscore a push by reform-minded candidates who contend that both county sheriffs are taking an outdated approach to law enforcement, and, after each serving more than a decade, no longer represent the interests of East Bay voters. The primary elections — which will take place on June 7 — represent the first time that voters will have a choice for sheriff since the police killings in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore and Minneapolis, which cast a national spotlight on policing practices. And the races come amid a growing debate over how sheriff's offices in each county can best serve people suffering from mental illness — particularly in light of several in-custody deaths at Alameda County's largest jail, and high-profile killings of mentally ill men by law enforcement in Contra Costa County.

“I think people are just frustrated and tired of seeing what's going on across the nation,” said

Yesenia Sanchez, one of two candidates challenging four-term sheriff Greg Ahern in Alameda County. “And if you look inwardly at your local law enforcement, what is it doing to address those issues?”

Sanchez, a career sheriff's deputy who currently runs the Santa Rita jails, has upended the race by scoring endorsements from several high-profile politicians, including state Sen. Bob Wieckowski, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and county Supervisors Dave Brown and Richard Valle. The mayors of Hayward, Berkeley, San Leandro, Alameda and

Emeryville have also pledged support for her campaign, as have numerous labor unions and Democratic clubs

In an interview, Sanchez, 44, lampooned Ahern for leading a “dictatorship” that shies away from criticism or accountability. She proposed a new oversight committee that would conduct independent investigations of the sheriff's office, and suggested removing the sheriff from decisions on what gets reviewed by the agency's internal affairs office.

“We want to make sure we're calling our people on bad behav