A lieutenant at Palmadale Station announced this week that he would challenge Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna in the primary election to become the first opposition candidate in more than a year of competition.
During a campaign Wednesday at Santa Clarita, Oscar Martinez promised to bring strong leadership to the nation’s largest sheriff’s department, focusing on modernizing agencies and supporting representatives.
“Today, I put my career and everything I work on this line not for the personal benefit but for my law enforcement partners and the future of public safety in the community,” He told the attendees. “The radical agenda has been taken [over] Our schools, our many city governments, our county councils, our state leaders, sadly, they are now demolishing law enforcement from within. ”
Martinez, a U.S. Martinez, a U.S. Martinez, who has worked in the department for 16 years, is a registered Republican—even though he told Times that he doesn’t think it’s important, even in places like Los Angeles, even in blue.
“It’s a nonpartisan race and I’m working to protect the citizens of the county,” he said in an interview. “No politics, just public safety.”
Born in the Dominican Republic, Martinez immigrated to the East Coast as a young man, worked in the U.S. Marines for eight years, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. He settled in the Los Angeles area in 2006 and joined the Los Angeles County Sheriff two years later. He said he has been working in prison since then as CEO aide, served as a spokesperson under the Last Government and is currently the watchman at the Palmadale Sheriff’s Station.
He said he decided to run for office after other representatives and community members encouraged him to do so Convicted of excessive force.
“The deputies just had enough – they were not supported,” he said. “You have deputies who were worried they would be fired for putting handcuffs in the case of suspects.”
According to his campaign website, key issues he wants to address include defending the Second Amendment, finding more resources to support veterans in the department, and preventing the release of violent criminals.
Martinez highlighted his interest in pushing the country to change its immigration enforcement approach in social media and The Times, saying he would lobby for adjustments Laws that block local law enforcement agencies The extra time is waiting for people from prison for immigration agents to pick them up only.
“As of now, we have to release them into the general population, and I think that’s wrong,” he said. “We need to build a working relationship with the ICE.”
Martinez talks about the need to modernize the outdated systems of the department Distribution system failed and Inoperable bus – But he also stressed the need for financial responsibility, especially in terms of resource allocation.
He said that given the years-long staff shortage, deputies should not transfer deputies from contract cities to staff professional teams such as psychological assessment teams. He advocates scaling down the team, which is trained to respond to calls involving people suffering from mental health crises until the department’s staffing level improves.
One topic that has plagued the Los Angeles County Sheriff for decades is the allegations of internal gangs who have tattoos at certain stations. Some sheriffs denied their existence, but Martinez acknowledged that the department exists in it. He said he had no tattoos.
“Every agency has a group,” he said. “I belong to the Marine Corps. There are groups there. I promise if I go to IBM, the group there will.”
The problem stems from a lack of leadership and by providing strong leadership and vision, he will eliminate the need for delegates to unite with controversial groups.
Challenging the election of the sheriff can be a difficult task. According to Jessica Pishko, author of The Supreme Law on Land, the incumbent won reelection about 90% of the time.
In Los Angeles County, only two sheriffs were elected in the last century: In 2018, Villanueva ousted Jim McDonnell, who is now the Los Angeles Police Chief. Luna – Former Long Beach Police Chief – Retire to the best Villanueva. During the campaign, Luna positioned herself as a calming antidote for what he called his opponent’s “dysfunction and confusion.”
Since taking office, he has encountered many problems with previous sheriffs: poor prison conditions, huge consent ordinances, allegations about deputy gangs, and ongoing staffing dilemma. But he is also good at promising to provide more even leadership and repairing broken relationships with other county leaders.
Last year, in the opposite speculation, he told the Times Will be re-election “absolutely”. As of Friday morning, the county registrar’s website listed him and Martinez as the only candidates in the game.
