LA Sheriff Villanueva: the people’s lawman
by John Phillips
The state of California once served as the platform from which former Presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were catapulted onto the national scene. Now we are known for our extreme and outrageous far-left-wing politicians who embarrass us nationally on a regular basis.
Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin gained notoriety for threatening landowners with fines for leaving their units vacant, and for being the resident champion of the ‘defund the police’ movement.
Fun fact: Since 2015 the LAPD has been called to Mike Bonin’s house 35 times, which means Bonin’s already broken Ed Buck’s single-season mark, and he’s within striking distance of R. Kelly’s all-time record!
If we really want to count our public safety pennies…next time Bonin calls the cops, we should just send a social worker out to his house.
Speaking of which, LA County Public Health Director, ‘Doctor’ Barbara Ferrer generated headlines for canceling Halloween, including trick-or-treating, due to COVID-19. The massive backlash forced her to backtrack, and she ultimately had to issue a recommendation that children stay inside this October 31st.
Imagine the police report after busting a kid for trick-or-treating: “Suspect wearing an elaborate disguise but carried no ID. Claimed to be Batman. Clearly under the influence of sugary snacks.”
And then you have LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, who really stepped in it when he called the men and women of the Los Angeles Police Department “killers.”
While discussing his efforts to defund the LAPD, Garcetti said, “We must lead. I got calls from mayors around the country, some of them saying, `I’m so excited,’ the other ones saying, `What the hell did you do? Now I (have to) shift money.’ That’s exactly the point. It starts someplace, and we say we are going to be who we want to be or we’re going to continue being the killers that we are.’’
After being called out by the Los Angeles Police Protective League for his jaw-dropping remarks, Garcetti did a pirouette like he was about to be eliminated from Dancing With The Stars.
Fear not, social justice warriors, Garcetti stood by his anti-police comments, which he says were taken out of context. (If you aren’t familiar with his vernacular, it just means the mayor was quoted verbatim.) And for the record, the same officers he called “killers” are the ones who provide him and his family with 24-hour extra security measures at their residence 365 days a year.
I actually feel sorry for Eric. Imagine being the guy who’s brought the most disgrace to the Garcetti family name.
Amid all this chaos, however, there is one local politician who has stepped up and found his voice: Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
And boy, is it refreshing.
On politicians who support the defund-the-police movement, Villanueva told KTTV, “It’s just going to cause a lot of hurt to a lot of people,” and “they want to listen to the mob…demanding (it).”
When non-medical-doctor Barbara Ferrer issued her prohibition on Halloween, the sheriff said his department would not be enforcing her edict.
In a Facebook chat, Villanueva said, “We’re going to leave that alone…We want parents out there to practice some common sense.”
For the record, the sheriff also refused to enforce the nonsensical closure of LA County beaches over the July 4th weekend, too.
Across the board, Sheriff Villanueva has emerged as the last line of defense for both civil liberties and public safety in Los Angeles County.
Yet, in keeping with our reputation of electing and embracing politicians who embarrass us, local officials have called on the duly elected sheriff to resign.
Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl both demanded that Villanueva step down for failing “to cooperate” with the county and going “rogue.”
Ha!
Not cooperating with this Board of Supervisors is nothing short of an indication of good judgment on the part of Sheriff Villanueva. What a spoiler!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kuehl, Ridley-Thomas, and glorified social worker Ferrer, who moonlights as the county health director, have proven to be both power hungry and dense — which is a very bad combo.
In case they were absent that day in civics class, Sheriff Villanueva was elected by the people of Los Angeles County, not appointed by the Board of Supervisors.
He doesn’t work for them, he works for us.
If Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas don’t like that, they can go read the LA County charter and learn about the separation of powers that exists between their office and his.
When it comes to the LA County Sheriff’s Department, he’s the boss.apple sauce.
Stuff that in your piehole.
