The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is the largest sheriff’s agency in the nation.
With lawsuits in recent years involving deputy cliques in the department and community members calling for the closure of the deteriorating Men’s Central Jail, the 2026 LA County Sheriff race potentially has deep ramifications for Los Angeles County voters.
Here’s what you need to know about the candidates before you cast your ballot.
What does the office do?
The Los Angeles County Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer for the county.
The sheriff is responsible for overseeing the budget, managing the nation’s largest jail system and providing police services to 42 contract cities and unincorporated areas.
Who is running?
There are eight LA County Sheriff Candidates including incumbent Robert Luna. Seven of them completed a candidate questionnaire from our news editors and reporters.
Mike Bornman is a retired LASD captain from Valencia.
He advocates for “leaning into hyper-transparency,” and believes anti-law enforcement rhetoric has diminished public trust in law enforcement, using “ACAB” and “defund the police” as examples.
He insists the department under his command will “enforce the law fairly, equitably and consistently down the middle.”
Karla Carranza is an LASD Sergeant from Whittier.
She plans to implement a customer service survey system, allowing the public to provide feedback on their interactions with department personnel, as well as install complaint-submission kiosks in station lobbies.
She markets herself as a strong leader that will encourage people to join LASD.
Brendan Corbett is a retired Assistant Sheriff from Diamond Bar.
He wrote that public safety is his main focus. He wants to rebuild public trust in law enforcement by creating “community advisory councils” and hosting town halls to maintain a local presence.
Robert Luna is the current Sheriff of LA County.
Luna provided examples of department changes he has implemented, like the introduction of body-worn cameras in jail facilities, which he said improves accountability.
He said crime reduction is his top priority and focuses on providing those in need with access to treatment services.
Oscar Martinez is a Lieutenant from Santa Clarita.
He said his approach as sheriff would be to “lead with transparency, accountability and communication.”
Martinez has plans to deploy resources to high-crime areas to reduce violent crime and wants to “ensure deputies have the staffing, training and tools needed to respond quickly and effectively.”
Alex Villanueva was the LA County Sheriff from 2018 to 2022.
He believes that declining trust in law enforcement is “a false narrative” that can be avoided with implementation of town halls across the county.
He plans to hire 2,000 deputies in two years and said that getting LASD back to full staffing is priority number one.
André N. White is a detective from Lakewood who said his focus will be to restore relationships with community leaders, residents and schools to promote public trust in the department.
Having grown up in Compton, he puts emphasis on youth development and prevention programs to lower violent crime.
Where do the candidates stand on the existence of deputy gangs in the department?
Based on their responses to a question posed by our opinion team, the 2026 Los Angeles County Sheriff candidates are divided on the existence of deputy gangs.
Here’s where the eight candidates who responded and remain on the ballot stand.
Carranza, Corbett, Martinez and Villanueva believe that deputy gangs do not exist currently.
Villanueva wrote that deputy gangs never existed, and that “the deputy gang narrative was a political campaign” created to “discredit” his administration.
Martinez wrote that groups from the 1970s and 1980s may have raised concerns, but said that today the department is not facing a similar issue, calling out a lack of evidence. Corbett also thinks that deputy cliques existed at one point.
Carranza, despite denying the existence of deputy gangs, wrote that there may be subgroups in the department where “preferential treatment” such as promotions “undermines fairness.” She said that this should “not be allowed to continue.”
Bornman and Strong believe there are still deputy gangs in the department.
Bornman believes that trauma bonding due to “high stress law enforcement situations” can sometimes lead to darker, gang-like behavior.
Strong said that his policies would “establish a culture” where employees could “have a safe and effective process for reporting” gang activity in the department.
White and Luna voiced their opposition to the gangs rather than saying whether they exist or not.
Instead, White discussed the importance of the department’s accountability and professionalism, and Luna focused on previous actions he took to “eradicate” deputy gangs, such as creating the Office of Constitutional Policing.
How do the candidates plan to tackle homelessness in the county?
The candidates who answered our questionnaire from news reporters and editors have differing opinions on how to tackle homelessness in LA County.
Bornman believes an underlying substance abuse and mental health crisis are fueling the homelessness issue, and said all county departments must work together in an “all-hands-on-deck approach” to solve these problems.
Carranza plans to increase the number of trained personnel in the Mental Evaluation and the Homeless Outreach Services teams.
Corbett explained he plans to “provide an in-custody case manager” to each individual in the jail system to track their treatment and release, and believes his methods would “prevent the possible return to the cycle of homelessness and substance abuse.”
Luna said he focuses on connecting “those in need with essential services and long-term support,” and would continue to do so if reelected.
Martinez believes the Sheriff’s Department should not be responsible for solving homelessness or housing individuals.
Villanueva said he would work to bring the LASD back to full staffing and revive the Homeless Outreach Services Team that he said “successfully cleaned” dozens of sites around the county.
White aims to connect social organizations with inmates before their release to promote their transition back into the community.
How will candidates address jail overcrowding in the county?
All of the candidates who answered our questionnaire want to replace or tear down the Men’s Central Jail, but for different reasons.
Bornman wants to build a new, “state-of-the-art” women’s housing and treatment facility to make more space in the Century Regional Detention Facility.
Carranza and Martinez want to build a new, unspecified jail facility in MCJ’s place.
Luna wants to replace it with a new Correctional Care Center with a treatment space, and similarly, Corbett would build a mental health facility and “build up” community programs.
Villanueva wants to replace the MCJ because he said it needs upgrading, but said LA County jails are not overcrowded.
White said the current facility is “outdated and unsafe, and downright disgusting,” but didn’t present a plan of what to do with the space in his questionnaire.
Making your choice
To help you make decisions about the numerous candidates, measures, propositions and other races on your ballot, our editorial board (made up of opinion writers and editors), makes recommendations every election. The process is completely separate from newsroom reporting and journalists. With the exception of our executive editor, the members of our editorial board are not news reporters or editors.
Sal Rodriguez, the opinion editor for the Southern California News Group’s 11 newspapers, heads the editorial board and guides our stances on public policy and political matters.
Every week, the team analyzes legislation, monitors political developments, interviews elected officials or policy advocates and writes editorials on the issues of the day. Unsigned editorials reflect the consensus of our editorial board, with the aim of offering arguments that are empirically sound and intellectually consistent.
The team applies this same process when considering to endorse candidates. It endorses on all statewide ballot measures, competitive congressional races, select races for the state legislature and select countywide and city elections.
The opinion team identifies credible candidates through surveys and interviews, deliberate based on our editorial precedent and in light of contemporary realities, and issue endorsements accordingly.
Not everyone will agree with editorials or the endorsements. That’s the nature of politics. But the team always tries to consider the best arguments from across the political spectrum as we construct and develop our own editorial stances.
Ultimately, our opinion team endorsed Sheriff Luna, who they wrote “very much deserves to be returned to his job as top cop for a second four-year term.”
Citing a need for continuity approaching the 2028 Olympic Games, they said Luna has been a “calming presence and effective sheriff.”
For more county and state voting information, you can visit our voter guide.