Union backs challenger in race for Santa Clara County sheriff
The union for patrol and enforcement deputies in the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office again is endorsing a challenger in the June primary election for the South Bay's next sheriff, marking the third straight time it has backed an opponent to six-term incumbent Laurie Smith.
This time the Deputy Sheriffs' Association is endorsing Kevin Jensen, a retired sheriff's captain who also ran against Smith in 2014 but lost after garnering 40% of the vote in a two-person race. The union endorsed Jensen in that election as well, which marked the first time it opposed Smith's reelection.
Smith's eligibility for an endorsement might have been an issue given that she has not announced her intent to run for a seventh term and has not filed paperwork with the county and state to run for reelection, which has a March 11 deadline. Smith first was elected in 1998 as the state's first female sheriff.
Union President Ryan Elder said in a statement Feb. 3 that the membership voted “overwhelmingly” in support of Jensen.
“We wholeheartedly endorse his commitment to bring focused leadership and a collaborative spirit to address the many challenges our department is facing,” Elder said.
The challenges Elder mentioned have been underscored recently by a string of scandals facing the Sheriff's Office and the leadership of Smith. Most recently, the county Board of Supervisors issued a noconfidence vote in Smith and requested external investigations into county jail operations and alleged misconduct related to corruption indictments for two of Smith's top commanders.
Those requests have resulted in a formal corruption accusation against Smith by the county's civil grand jury — which if affirmed by a trial jury would force her removal — and a pattern-or-practice civil rights investigation launched by state Attorney General Rob Bonta. Both of those developments stem from scrutiny over high-profile jail-injury cases and questions over halted internal investigations as well as a payto-play scandal accusing Smith's commanders of garnering political donations and favors by leveraging concealed-gun permits, for which Smith is the sole approver.
“The sheer magnitude of challenges that must be addressed is beyond the capacity of any individual who may be unable to focus their entire attention on improving our organization,” Elder said. “Now is the right time to elect focused leadership and fresh energy to rebuild our depleted staffing levels and complete the organizational changes necessary to improve trust between the Sheriff's Office, rank-and-file deputies and the community we serve.”
Jensen said his experience in several roles in the Sheriff's Office, including a stint as assistant chief of corrections, gives him the command to follow through on what Elder has been advocating.
“I am highly encouraged that this (endorsement) will help bring us one more step forward to make the changes I've been calling for over 12 years,” he said in an interview. “We'll be finally be able to end the pain and make the changes people have been calling for.”
He added, “The public is more aware now, and with awareness comes transparency and opportunity for change. We can't change the past, but we can certainly change the future with all their help.”
The Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Jensen was the first challenger to declare a sheriff run in September. He was joined by corrections Sgt. Christine Nagaye in October, and last month Palo Alto Police Chief Bob Jonsen and another corrections sergeant, Sean Allen, filed their candidacies. Dave Knopf, a retired assistant chief for the San Jose Police Department, also filed last month but announced about three weeks later that he was dropping out.
Jensen decided against a sheriff run in 2018, deferring to retired Undersheriff John Hirokawa, who also was endorsed by the DSA and pushed Smith to her first runoff election that November — but lost after garnering 44% of ballots.
The Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers Association, which is separate from the DSA and represents jail deputies in the Sheriff's Office, backed Smith in the last election. POA President Todd Kendrick said his union still is deliberating an endorsement.