Sheriff Chad Bianco, District Attorney Mike Hestrin to stay in office through 2028 under new law
Riverside County's elected district attorney and sheriff will get an extra two years in office under a new state law that moves the next election for the offices to 2028.
The bill, which applies statewide, aims to get more voters to participate in choosing local law-enforcement leaders. Sheriffs and DAs have long been elected the same years as the governor, but they'll now be elected the same years as the president when more people vote.
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, introduced AB 759 in 2021, and Gov. Gavin Newsom approved it Sept. 29.
The news was met with a mixed response from District Attorney Mike Hestrin and Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Sheriff's department spokesperson Brandi Swan wrote by email: "The passing of Assembly Bill 759 is a huge victory for the community members of Riverside County. (Bianco and Hestrin) will now get an extended six-year term to safeguard the residents, arrest those responsible for crime, and successfully prosecute offenders to the fullest. We believe in stability for our county and public safety will now be guaranteed for the next six years."
In an interview Tuesday, Hestrin said: "I'll take the two extra years. Certainly my supporters are happy about that."
Hestrin, however, said that the law is an attempt by the Democrat-controlled state legislature to influence counties like Riverside, where conservatives, like he and Bianco, have been elected. Both offices of district attorney and sheriff are officially nonpartisan, but both Hestrin and Bianco have supported numerous Republican candidates in statewide and legislative races.
"It's a cynical move at the state level to try and affect DA and sheriff elections," Hestrin said. "And it's gonna backfire. I do my job in a nonpartisan way. I get a lot of support from rank-and-file Democrats in Riverside County. I'll keep doing that."
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Other county officials, such as supervisors and assessors, will still be elected the same year as the state's governor, during the statewide primary and general election.
"Local government, specifically, county officers and their policies have an immediate and direct effect on our daily lives," wrote McCarty, when the bill was being considered by the legislature. "However, voter turnout for local elections fluctuates significantly depending on what year elections are held."
Data kept by the California secretary of state shows that nearly 40% more of the state's approximately 25 million voters participated in the 2016 general election when compared to the 2018 midterm — with 17.7 and 12.7 million voting in the respective contests.
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Both Hestrin and Bianco won majority votes in the June 7 primary this year, and were reelected without having to take part in next month's general election. Hestrin won about 55% of votes against two challengers, receiving slightly more than 185,000 votes. Bianco won about 61% support against one challenger, with about 210,300 votes. Just over 23% of the 1.6 million eligible voted in each contest, or about 374,000.
Nearly three times that many voters cast ballots in the 2020 general election in Riverside County, with about a million people voting of the nearly 1.5 million eligible that year.
The new law also gives county supervisors the authority to move other county officer elections to presidential election years.
Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Riverisde Sheriff Chad Bianco, DA Hestrin will be in office until 2028
