LA Times Begs Sheriff Baca Not to Run for Fifth Term

Since 1932, no incumbent LA County Sheriff has ever lost a bid for re-election. In a County with more than 10 million people, it’s too hard to raise enough money or build the necessary organization. So, the current, almost 16-year incumbent, Lee Baca, should step aside, rather than running next year for re-election, allowing “a competent, experienced challenger” can step forward. That’s according to an editorial in yesterday’s LA Times, titled, “Don’t Run Again, Sheriff Baca.” And Saturday’s hit-and-run incident on the Venice boardwalk left one person dead and 11 injured. It’s being investigated by the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division. The LA Times reports that 38-year-old Nathan Louis Campell, the suspect who turned himself in, might have spent time in a Colorado jail for trespassing and shoplifting. Mike Bonin is the newly elected City Councilman whose district includes Venice Beach. And in tonight's Reporter's Notebook, Matt Holzman asks in the third of his stories inspired by NeverBuilt, “was there something fishy about Disneysea?

Banner Image: Sheriff Lee Baca waits before a news conference to address the Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence report on his department's management of the jail system. Jason Redmond/REUTERS