Candidate forums kick off Tuesday
Incumbent Laurie Smith faces four challengers vying for her seat
MOUNTAIN VIEW » The public’s first chance to get a close-up look at the candidates for the Santa Clara County Sheriffs’ race will be Tuesday with the first of five scheduled election forums.
The inaugural forum, hosted by the Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network (SIREN), is set for Tuesday evening at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. Two more will be held this week in Campbell and Cupertino, with another two scheduled for mid-May.
Sheriff Laurie Smith is running for an unprecedented sixth term as the county’s top cop, a post she has held since 1998 when she became the first female sheriff in state history. Smith is already the longest-serving sheriff in Santa Clara County and has been with the agency since 1973.
Her highest-profile challenger is former Undersheriff John Hirokawa, who retired two years ago as Smith’s second-incommand, and was in charge of the county jails, which is currently undergoing signif-
icant reforms. Hirokawa served with the agency for 38 years, steadily ascending through the ranks.
Current Deputy Joseph La Jeunesse is a former U.S. Army major and military police officer who served multiple tours in the Middle East, commanded troops at the California-Mexico border, and is a Bronze Star Medal recipient.
Martin Monica is a retired San Jose police officer who was also briefly chief of police in Parlier, a Central Valley town southeast of Fresno. He currently performs social work and is a civil-rights advocate in the South Bay, and previously ran for sheriff in 2010.
Jose Salcido is a retired Sheriff’s lieutenant with the county, former president of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association. He was a policy adviser for former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, and currently works in the office of Councilman Johnny Khamis. Salcido previously ran for sheriff in 1998, the year Smith was first elected.