Candidate for sheriff drops out; just 1 left
Lt. Ron Terry, one of just two candidates running to replace outgoing Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, dropped out of the race late Tuesday, according to his campaign manager.
That leaves Chief Deputy Paul Miyamoto without any competition — for now. Candidates have until Wednesday to enter their names into the race.
Terry had been considering exiting the race for a week before making the final decision late Tuesday, said Y’Anad Burrell, Terry’s campaign manager.
Terry entered the sheriff's race primarily to bolster programs that help formerly incarcerated people return to civilian life successfully and reduce recidivism, he said. He decided to continue to focus on that goal, possibly by creating a nonprofit organization, rather than shoulder the myriad responsibilities of leading the sheriff ’s office.
He said Miyamoto is “definitely equipped” to take over for Hennessy, and he said he would “assist him in any way possible” as sheriff.
Campaign finance records released last week show that Terry raised no money in the first six months of the year. He did, however, incur more than $20,000 in expenses, primarily for campaign consulting services.
Miyamoto, on the other hand, raised $91,024 in the first six months of the year and spent $34,974.
Hennessy, the first woman to lead the law enforcement agency, said in March that she will not seek reelection — ending a fourdecade career with the department.
Her successor will face a number of challenges, such as improving jail conditions and dealing with questions involving the city’s immigration enforcement.
“I plan on engaging with the community every opportunity I can in order to make sure that people are aware of the opportunity to elect their next sheriff,” Miyamoto said.