Washington touts Bianco support

Riverside County Democrats are sure to experience some cognitive dissonance with the reelection campaign of Supervisor Chuck Washington.

Washington, a Democrat who has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2015, is running again in 2024. The campaign kickoff begins Friday.

Notably, Washington is touting supporters Riverside County Democrats may scratch their heads over.

This includes recently elected Auditor-controller Ben Benoit, a Republican who Washington endorsed last year over incumbent Democratic Auditor-controller Paul Angulo. But it also includes scandal-plagued Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

“I strongly support Supervisor Chuck Washington for re-election,” said Bianco in a statement touted by the Washington campaign.

Washington’s proud displaying of Bianco’s endorsement puts him at odds with his own party. Prior to becoming head of the Riverside County Democratic Party last year in December, Joy Silver was co-chair of the the Riverside Alliance for Safety & Accountability, a group that denounced Bianco as an “extremist

Oath Keeper” who “is a real threat to the future of our public safety” and pushed for his defeat last year.

Washington clearly doesn’t care about any of this.

In fact, his campaign published Bianco’s endorsement even after news broke that the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is now subject to a state civil rights investigation launched by the California Department of Justice. The investigation began after a dramatic spike in the number of people who died in the Riverside County jail system last year. But, again, Washington doesn’t care about that.

This all makes sense when one remembers that Chuck Washington, along with fellow Democratic Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, supported Bianco’s election in 2018 over incumbent Sheriff Stan Sniff.

Washington and Perez have long been close allies of the Riverside Sheriff’s Association, the union that represents the county’s deputy sheriffs. It was RSA that recruited Bianco to run for sheriff (and poured a million dollars in to make it happen).

It remains to be seen if a more principled Democrat will emerge to challenge Washington.