by Bob Olmsted
Editor’s note:
Bob Olmsted, the respected former assistant sheriff of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, became alarmed a few weeks ago when he heard that Alex Villanueva intended to run Janice Hahn’s seat on the LA County of Supervisors.
(Hahn represents the county’s 4th District, which covers more than 400 square miles in the southern and southeastern portions of the county.)
He first got the news, Olmsted told us, from Ron Hernandez, the longtime president of the LASD’s deputies union, the Association of Assistant Deputy Sheriffs or ALADS.
Hernandez is now retired, but he is still involved with the organization he led for many years. So, when he heard rumors of Villanueva’s newest ambition, he reportedly called his friend Olmsted and expressed his concerns.
“He didn’t feel that Alex was the best person for that position. And I agreed.”
Hernandez’ main concern had to do with ALAD’s considerable pile of cash (made up of deputy dues), that is often used to help finance local political campaigns, including Villanueva’s original long-shot candidacy for sheriff in 2018.
“I think Ron wanted to make sure that ALADS didn’t support a bad leader,” Olmsted told us. “I felt the same way.”
With all of the above and more in mind, Olmsted agreed to write an op-ed for WitnessLA, laying out his thoughts on Alex Villanueva’s recently-announced intentions to persuade voters to install him as a member of the five-member board that runs the nation’s most populous county.
So read on.
****
An informed view of the former sheriff’s intention to join the LA County Board of Supervisors
Eight years after I retired from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Alex Villanueva invited me to rejoin the department in the role of assistant sheriff in charge of the Custody Division. His offer was unsolicited and came following his unexpected victory over then Sheriff Jim McDonnell
I had only the briefest interaction with Alex before my retirement. I’d spoken to him a few times when, in 2014, I ran for sheriff after the department’s longtime leader, Lee Baca, resigned in the midst of a growing scandal that would eventually result in federal convictions for him and his former undersheriff Paul Tanaka.
When Villanueava reached out to me, I agreed to come on board with the understanding that I would only stay for two years, then return to retirement.
Those two years shrank to one year, and during that 12 month period, I had a front-row seat to witness the antics of the most vindictive, retaliatory person I have ever met, before or after: Sheriff Alex Villanueva.
After Villanueva was sworn in on December 3, 2018, one of the first concerns that emerged for me was the new sheriff’s troubling quest to even the score with deputies he didn’t like, or deputies who were friends with people he didn’t like, or were relatives of deputies no longer in the department, but whom he had not liked prior to their departure.
One of the strongest triggers of his pattern of disliking this or that department member seemed to get tripped if the person in question had been in a position of power over Villanueva during past years when Villanueva sought a promotion but hadn’t gotten it.
Prior to being elected, Sheriff Alex Villanueva never rose past the position of lieutenant. Now that he was sheriff, the extent to which his personal bias drove the promotion process under his regime became particularly visible during the weekly Wednesday staff meetings.
During these meetings, the new sheriff would hold up a promotional jacket, which contains the individual history of each candidate, and pronounce the person being considered not ready for a step up the ladder. The reasons he gave often amounted to nothing more than his own personal prejudice.
On the flip side, it was common to see a candidate’s extravagant and unquestioning support of the insecure sheriff being the basis for a promotion. This resulted in people being pushed several ranks up the ladder when they were not qualified for the position that they had just been given.
As the months passed, the fact that there was no consistent set of standards meant the deputy promotional process existed in a state of continual turmoil.
First Villanueva announced that two years in custody working in the jails, and two years in a radio car on patrol, was required in order to be eligible for promotion to a higher rank. So far so good. But he quickly sabotaged his own new system, by promptly ignoring it.
During his first year in office, I watched Sheriff Villanueva promote more than a dozen people who were not promotable under the rules he himself had laid down. Not only were the rules not fairly administered, but there was great confusion among deputies with years on the force, about how to reasonably meet these new conditions working a “line position” in custody and patrol, in order to be considered for promotion. The confusion was exacerbated by the promotion of people who were clearly not qualified.
Villanueva’s vindictiveness was not confined to the promotion process. It was also a factor when it came to investigating wrongdoing by department members.
I witnessed this early on when he caused cases to be filed in the department’s Internal Criminal Investigation Bureau (ICIB) on two command staff members working for me, purely because they had supported the previous sheriff, Jim McDonnell.
Villanueva claimed there were internal criminal complaints against the two, a chief and a commander, and demanded that they be relieved of duty without telling me the nature of the complaints, although I was their commanding officer.
In response, I demanded an immediate investigation into the allegations against the two. Six days later, the investigation was finished. Both people were cleared and reinstated.
This wasn’t an isolated incident. I watched as other baseless accusations and investigations of a similar nature unraveled throughout the department.
Another of Villanueva’s irrational goals seemed to be the desire to make Jim McDonnell look bad. This caused Alex to arbitrarily change processes and systems, solely because McDonnell had instituted them, even when those systems were clearly useful to the department.
In general, Villanueva lacked any vision for the department or solutions to its problems.
This was starkly demonstrated during his first press conference, where he identified to reporters a series of problems facing the department that he said were caused by the former sheriff. When reporters asked logical follow-up questions about the problems he cited, the source of his numbers, and what he was going to do to solve the issues he had flagged, the new sheriff could not provide any answers.
Villanueva’s ineffectiveness as a leader was also exemplified by his refusal to work cooperatively with the county’s Board of Supervisors and the Chief Administrative Officer. Instead he repeatedly picked fights with members of the board, to the point that he became convinced that they had recruited spies against him within his department.
His unwillingness to find a way to work with the board, resulted in measurable negative consequences for rank-and-file deputies, including causing the board to cut chunks out of the department’s funding, because he never bothered to credibly explain why that funding was needed.
When asked to attend critically important board meetings, such as those involving jail closures, he often failed to attend for reasons that seemed more like tantrums than scheduling conflicts.
As that first year wore on, it became clear the sheriff and I were not on the same wavelength.
My year in Villanueva’s administration ended when he sent an underling to ask me to leave. As with so many things, he lacked the integrity and personal character to do this himself, in person.
Unfortunately for the LA County Sheriff’s Department, the department’s hard-working deputies dedicated to public service, and the communities of Los Angeles County that those deputies serve, Sheriff Villanueva remained in office for three more years.
During that time, he made enemies of everyone. the Board of Supervisors, the department’s Civilian Oversight Commission, the press.
If he becomes one of the five members of the board of supervisors, he won’t make the county better. He’ll create havoc.
“It was common to see a candidate’s extravagant and unquestioning support of the insecure sheriff being the basis for a promotion. This resulted in people being pushed several ranks up the ladder when they were not qualified for the position that they had just been given”. Glad the clown show is over and the bowlegged potato head is gone along with the want to be former Queen of the County and her henchmen. Alejandro is a little man full of vendetta victim mentality.
I know there are both admirers and critics of Alex Villanueva who read this webpage. I know Bob Olmsted personally and know he is a smart, straightforward man with no hidden agenda. His actions and history on LASD demonstrate his integrity and love for the organization. I have no doubt he wrote an insider’s accurate depiction of what a clown show AV created over his four years as Sheriff.
In a long career with the Department, I never worked for Bob Olmsted. Deputies who I knew and trusted spoke of the man with affection and respect. The unanimous view I heard when he returned to the Department was that we were lucky to have him. The most common among many positive traits I heard ascribed to him was integrity.
The fact that he has taken this opportunity to warn LA County voters regarding Villanueva supports everything I ever heard. Thank you sir.
I don’t know much about Villanueva and I don’t dislike Olmsted but his testimonies and diatribes against Villanueva don’t seem to be very well received or effective.
I do know that the testimony he was well compensated for and provided in the Waldie vs. COLA case sure didn’t help. Waldie lost that case to a unanimous verdict.
Maybe Olmsted should find a healthy outlet away from his apparent Villanueva derangement syndrome.
Just trying to help out a guy that most folks seem to like with some advice- enjoy your lucrative retirement away from the department and its issues!!
I have known Bob for many years and he is true to his word. Often times during his one year as the Assistant Sheriff, he would call me to vent as to some of the ridiculous decisions Alex was making. I also know Alex and know that his vindictiveness runs deep between both he and his “Sweet Pea”. Together they promoted some very incompetent people and together they tried to destroy very competent people. LA County BOS is a mess, but the last person they need on the Board is Alex. I feel bad for the hard working men and women of the LASD because they now have a leader who continues to keep the garbage that Alex moved up.
@Anthony Brown you are responding on a post which is crticizing Villanueva, while claiming to “not know much about him.”
Yet, you are critical of the respected man who wrote down his thoughts about his time in a front row seat.
It is clear you are loyal to the person “you don’t know much about.”
Then you do the typical AV style of attempted belittling and labeling. Derangement syndrome?”
You also said his testimonials and diatribes don’t seem to be very well received or effective.
As far as well received, did you not read the three posts before yours?
Effective? Only time will tell.
It’s comical that you think you need to help out a guy who made it to where he is today, happily retired, without you.
Bring on the insults! Maybe, as an “irrelevant” LA County resident, I’ll get inspired to talk about what I saw from the back row seats.
Waldie won the whistleblower claim in his lawsuit, although he lost the claim his ability to interview was related to whistleblowing months prior. The same whistleblowing that Michael Thatcher refused and failed to initiate an administrative investigation on. Thatcher is as bad as Villanueva; Vindictive and just wanted to be liked by the troops, to the detriment of the community and department members. Thatcher even admitted in his deposition the following, ” I DIDN’T CALL I.A.B.· I WASN’T LOOKING TO HAVE JAIME JUAREZ BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANY WRONG DOINGS HE MAY HAVE DONE.” And that’s public record.
Who would be dumb enough to donate even $1 to the Ultimate One Term Failure. The retired lieutenant who failed miserably at playing sheriff with his SweatPee and his laughable circus of bobbleheading skippers was soundly kicked out of office in historic landslide losing fashion during the last election.
When we said Adios Alex, we meant it forever! And no, you can’t have any more donations to help you pay off your mountain of campaign debt from your failed 2022 run. Maybe you and Sweatpee can make another pathetic begging for dollars video like the one you made last year when ALADS smartly left you hanging the last time. That was hilarious.
Where’s Creepy Carl and Bigglesworth Burcher when you need them most? You better try to wake up Mr. Magoorakami for some help.
Vindictive, nepotism, favoritism, pay-to-play, revenge, payback, lay-to-play and absolute power corrupting absolutely are all terms that characterize any regime whether it be the Sheriff’s Department, LA County Board of Supervisors or University of California to name a few. The question you gotta ask all these “come-clean my conscious is bothering me after I’ve retired and can’t be retaliated against” types is where were you when the boot was being placed on the neck of the front-line grunt employees who were taking the fall for something they had no control over, not being promoted because they weren’t part of the club, in the car, on the fast-track, connected or subject to the career ending “you got nothing coming” plague that infects the ranks? Did you vociferously speak up or sit by and watch others crash and burn or make sure you had a chair when the music stopped playing?
The reality is we all need a job, money to pay for our lifestyles, keep up with the Joneses and out of fear of being retaliated against by our employer or subject to a what amounts to a media led public lynching keeps silent. Save the guilt lesson in morality after fact since when it counted mum was the word.
Seeing how corrupt the LA County Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles City Council who have members that have actually been indicted for Federal crimes, I can’t see how forme LA County Sheriff Villanueva is going be the straw that broke the corrupt LA political machines back. Come on. Really!
Hey Bob, move on, you collect around 20k a month from retirement and live in Orange County, who cares? EVERY Sheriff (and Tanaka) from Pitchess to Luna has done the same thing, promoted their friends, promoted people who didn’t deserve to be, took care of the ones they trusted, and tried to burn the ones they didn’t like or crossed them. Im sure even George T. Burrill hired, promoted and fired department members he liked, disliked or crossed him! Sheriff Villanueva didn’t do everything right, but he tried and he wasn’t an OUTSIDER who knows nothing about this department. Heck, South LA station is still standing because of Alex, it might have been burned down under the current administration (Just one small example).
Villanueva and sweet pea ~ Biden and Hunter
@ See Ya, you are absolutely right. Sheriff Luna needs to clean house and, rid of the VILLAN’s henchmen ( Yes some of the Chief’s ) promoted by him and sour pee. He promoted incompetent individuals all because they “honey D***ed” him and sought “career advise” from sour see. I wonder how many of these incompetent individuals have called sour pee for career recently.
Yes Chief’s and above are “At -Will” employees. Unfortunately, there are plenty of incompetent Captains and Commanders promoted by the VILLAN who have Civil Service Protection and, can’t help tripping on their own D***s on a daily basis.
@ Saul, keep holding that camera when the deranged Potato Head mumbles nonsense every Wednesday on his “I am a Victim” platform.
Glad the Alejandro and Bibi Clown show is over. Never Again!!!
Ironic how Ron Hernandez plays both sides.
Once a zealous fan and major contributer with major ALADS money to Villanueva.
Ron did nail this in that he himself is a IRRELEVANT Los Angeles County resident,geez!
This gets more hilarious as the hours go by. Lol
I’m a retired Fireman and I can attest to people being promoted just because they were friendly with the newly appointed Chief. I was asked if I wanted to promote to bolster my single highest year in P.E.R.S. I didn’t take the cheese. 30 years is enough for anyone who does that job. The point of this is to shed some light on hiring leaders from outside the Department. I favor this hiring practice juxtaposed to appointing a possible company man or woman.
The LASD Retiree rendition of The Good (Olmsted), the Bad (Villanueva) and the Ugly (Hernandez) is comical to say the least.
Ron Hernandez has a double role as Cabana Boy running to tell Olmsted something he already knew. Not to mention Ronnie Boy being the bag man from ALADS to Villanueva’s 1st campaign.
Don’t try to hide now as you were Anti McDonnell as well, at least Olmsted knew that as a ranked professional himself
ALADS record of gambling on candidates, including the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is dismal at best. Odds are better at any Craps table in Vegas.
I already have Popcorn and Modelo stocked up for the forthcoming comments, specifically from Ronnie Boy.
Hey Ron, get off of the Los Angeles political merry-go-round and ride your own horses.
Villanueva has the gall of Teflon Don to make a comeback in Los Angeles County. If this thread isn’t comedy, I don’t know what is.
The continuous charades with LASD personnel unfortunately overshadows the hard working line deputies.
Dirty laundry, tattle-tales & back stabbing appears to be the norm. Although not perfect, this would’ve never happened during the Pitchess era.
Ticket Holder you are spot on!!!!!
@Anonymous and Ticket Holder.
Are you guys capable of an adult conversation.
Take a deep breath!
Breath in! Breath out!
Have you not noticed, YOU, can’t offend me.
Ok kids, now try to offer some mature constructive criticism so the adults can have a well thought out conversation.
Let’s try this again.
And, GO!
For those who have short memories……
https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sheriffs-union-endorsment-20180808-story.html
No doubt election time is near. What is the connection from one person telling another person about one person.
While I am not a LACERA collector (yet) like so many of you posting comments on here, I have been around long enough to witness both the effectiveness of Bob’s work ethic, and AV’s swift, baseless rationale.
I was impressed by Bob and his ability to navigate problems in the few times I interacted with him (both during his initial tenure and short return). I believe he both respected the history of our departed and its mission, while understanding the changes necessary after years of thorough investigations. The years following those investigations were truly unique. While I can’t say I agree with every decision Sheriff McDonnell made, he too faced a tall order based on countless decisions that were made by both Baca in a failed attempt to save face and John Scott in the interim.
But AV was sadistic, plain and simple. He cut hundreds of years of institutional knowledge in one fell swoop upon his appointment by in essence firing 16 department executives. For the last four years, LASD didn’t know which way is up; and it was clearly evident.
The county we serve expects more from us. The department of old is dead and gone; and that is partly due to mistakes made by some of our own partners. While I would love to see us salvage what’s left of the agency I am still proud to say I work for, that would require trust in how the public views the inner workings of what I still feel is the greatest agency in America.
I do want to thank Bob for his efforts during both terms of service to our department. It takes extreme fortitude to stand up for what’s right on our department nowadays. AV had no place at our helm, we would’ve had a much better chance under Bob Lindsey.
@Tradition of Service, well said!
I truly don’t know if Bob Lindsey would have done a better job, but in hindsight, he surely couldn’t have done worse.
My worry about Bob at the time was how he handled the union’s decision to stay out of the primary. He immediately responded with a vengeance and tried to roll the seated BOD, even though we had just done the right thing and made he and his son whole, for attorney’s fees, when the previous Board left him hanging.
I stand by the decision made to support Villanueva, after he prevailed over Lindsey.
Our members wanted McDonnel gone and witnessing his inability to control his administration meant we needed to act.
It was the right decision at the time. Villanueva’s performance is the reason we/I now view it as the wrong decision.
@Ron Hernandez
AV didn’t prevail over Lindsey when paying union members voted, that’s for sure. I’m also well aware of his sons predicament; another person I give accolades to for standing up for what’s right. The union did right in covering their fees, sure…. but the department skates yet again when it comes to accountability in how they handled that situation.
The quid pro quo and station/assignment-related nepotism days of old for LASD need to be long gone. While McDonnell ruled with an iron fist, he was forced to implement several agreements made in the finals months of Baca’s tenure and John Scott’s brief stent. We nearly got to a place where we could play nice in the sandbox with the BOS, then enter AV. We went from one extreme to the other… that’s why Bob Lindsey was the people’s choice. He understood the departments deficiencies, while recognizing the key points where we were losing the public’s trust.
Our department had/has flaws, plain and simple. Stories of yesteryear provided by retirees on here solves nothing; because today’s LASD is being held accountable for the egregious actions of a select few who acted like gods among men. McDonnell spent four years trying to gain trust within and dealing with an overbearing board… and AV spent the next four belittling them… pardon my French, but where in the hell does that leave us?
My two cents, it leaves us unprecedentedly understaffed, and with dwindling support from any angle… and a bunch of new deps who are lateraling in droves.
@TraditionOfService:
“AV didn’t prevail over Lindsey when paying members voted, that’s for sure”. You are absolutely correct!
So glad to see that you knew that as we overwhelmingly wanted Lindsey.
As far as ALADS paying for Lindsey’s son Attorney fees, ALADS BOD did not do him a favor by paying it, they should have anyway.
The cover up excuse using “McDonnell” was a very weak reasoning to endorse Villanueva over Bob Lindsey.
Again, glad to see that you ” read between the lines” concerning ALADS Board of Directors who had their own fearful reasoning with memberships money and unofficial endorsement of Villanueva.
@Tradition of Service, again you make some good points, but you also missed some.
Both candidates wanted an early endorsements and admittedly Lindsey would appear to be the front runner if for no other reason than AVs history regarding another association.
But, they didn’t just want an endorsement. They wanted money which triggers a fiduciary duty.
We initially said no endorsement for the Sheriff’s race, because if we support the one who loses in the primary, we would then have to find a way to support the survivor without looking like amateur hour.
Lindsey didn’t agree and told me thousands/majority of deputies supported him.
We then gave in and told him we would do a poll.
They were both told they had to receive a convincing amount of support. A percentage that I will not post here, but of which they were aware and did not attain.
Although Lindsey prevailed as the deputies choice, a lot of deputies can’t even vote in LA County. So no, he was not “the people’s choice.”
We knew what it was going to take to beat McDonnell, so we listened to our strategists and our guts and waited. The rest is history.
For the record, I/we felt McDonnell had to go because he let too many people run amuck and deputies were suffering under his leadership.
If I’d had the opportunity to “build” a Sheriff it would not have been Alex.
A decision had to be made and Alex talked a good story, but completely changed once he got elected. That’s politics I guess.
None of what I post is me making excuses.
This is me giving reasons and owning my decisions.
Not much different than doing police work.
We make the best decisions we can with the best information available to us at THAT time.
@ TraditionOfService, Hooray!
Many deputies resonate with you, I’m sending you some virtual popcorn and a Modelo.
@ Ron Hernandez
I appreciate you admitting mistakes, which we all make. The fact is the extreme vast majority of deps did want Bob. The sheer percentage should’ve caused a borderline paradigm shift on how ALADS approached endorsing another union founder.
Unfortunately that’s where some spots have surfaced on this leopard… I believe there were ulterior motives swaying the decision as to who would get the endorsement. AV focused too much on belittling people, and less about bumbling as our leader.
Look Ron, I would never want to run ALADS, and to be honest, I’m not PC enough to have a shot anyways. But there are too many close relationships between those who run our department, and those who supposedly have our best interest at heart. I see new blood vying for a spot on the BOD; I hope they get a chance.
Lets see if Alejandro plays the “I’m a Latino” card. This cowboy want to be is more white than Janice Hahn. You’re a small petulant man Alejandro…. both you and your sour pea
@ TraditionOfService:
YOUR LAST COMMENT NAILED IT!
THE MAJORITY OF DEPUTIES FELT THE SAME ABOUT ALADS ENDORSEMENT BUT COULD NOT ELOQUENTLY WORD IT AND THAT WITHOUT PUSHBACK.
NO DOUBT THE AFOREMENTIONED EXPLANATION BY RON DID NOT CUT IT.
YOUR COMMENT WILL FOREVER BE ASSOCIATED WITH ALADS ENDORSEMENT WHICH CATAPULTED LASD INTO A REALM NEVER EXPERIENCED.
THANK YOU!
@Tradition of Service, first I appreciate the civil back and forth and would rather have this conversation elsewhere, but…
You mentioned ulterior motives and having close relationships with people on the department.
I have to assume you may be referencing me, in the context of your statement.
I was friends with Bob Lindsey and his son. I kept my promise of representing what made sense regarding their attorney’s fees. I did that as director at large. Not the president.
An ulterior motive would have been to use my influence as newly elected president to steer the endorsement towards my friend Bob Lindsey.
Believe me I got pressure and phone calls from many people with rank/influence inside and outside the department.
I knew of AV, but hardly knew him personally.
As far as relationships with department members and best interest of our members. I believe some of the “old” ALADS would make deals for the passengers “in the car” and left thos in their POVs hanging, frequently.
The attorney who had a relationship with PT and other department members was calling the shots, not the BOD.
They had little regard for members and their best interest, in my opinion.
You may not have noticed or seen it, but we changed that.
I wanted ALADS to have a fresh start and stand on their own with opinions and we’ll thought out reasons and arguments for action taken.
You can’t make everyone happy and I always made sure the unhappy got an explanation.
My theory is if the unhappy receive a reasonable explanation, most likely they will have little influence over the well informed, because didn’t hide the truth.
The reverse of that is we/I chose to go to bat for a few Deps who were less than stellar, but the department violated their rights, so we did the right thing and represented them.
I don’t know if you know me personally, I can assure no one who really knows me would call me PC.
However, you can tell it like it is and still get things done as long as you have a well thought out explanation, forego the insults and collaborate for the greater good.
@ Former ALADS Member
It doesn’t take much to realize the support was there for Bob from the get go. The man had a great deal more experience than AV, hands down. For our union to determine allegiance based on the fact “a lot of deputies don’t even live in LA County” speaks volumes. If we put Bob and AV on a stage, I’d sell popcorn and make a killing for that show.
For the percentage of support Bob received to not be a clear and evident sign that AV wasn’t the man for the job according to the foot soldiers is a sign our own union needs a shake up just like LASD went through in 2009-2010.
Too many people holding on to bygone eras, and memories in which could and should not be relived today. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone…. I’m really hoping our biggest union learns from this one.
@ TRADITION OF SERVICE
Your comments are key to many unanswered and avoidable questions presented to ALADS BOD during the Villanueva era.
Thank God that your dialogue was/is spot on.
Without the usual standard of back and forth with Ron via this blog, I agree with you (Tradition of Service) that ALADS Board of Directors is past due for new blood, period.
@ Ron Hernandez
I haven’t had the pleasure of making your acquaintance; and again applaud you for taking ownership of being wrong about AV. Not too many people left within the rank and file are willing and/or able to make a decision on their own nowadays; let alone listen to someone who might tell them what they need to hear instead of what they want to hear.
The motive I mentioned didn’t have to do with your relationship with our department. Like I said before, I wouldn’t want your job… and I’ve never been the Monday morning QB type. I just think it’s time priorities shift towards supporting those brazen enough to continue serving the public this day and age.
I believe the rank and file has suffered enough as we have watched the command staff at the top change as a result of election after election…. the Lindsey family was a prime example of that. When the dust settles, what was accomplished? Cutting down an incredible deputy with potential, for what? Nothing. Instead our department values “yes men”.
That’s the same story for countless others who were reinstated after years of investigation and the civil service process. Yet, we still have “the car”…. throughout our department. Heaven forbid you speak for yourself, or stand up for what’s right. Bob Olmstead did that… look where it got him. Probably a blessing in disguise though, because he got away from the tyrant at the helm.
Just like many others, I’m sure AV wasn’t a fan of those who climbed through the ranks with ease. We still have plenty of mid level executives who would do a damn fine job running units/divisions… but after AV’s lop job when he came in… who wants to face that if there’s yet another change at the top?
McDonnell faced tons of adversity… and couldn’t accomplish much when faced with hard headed tan and green nepotism. Admitting fault, and a fresh set of eyes can work wonders sometimes. But we, as a department continue to hemorrhage staff like there’s no tomorrow; prioritizing allegiance over the common good. That only hurts the boots on the ground, and the communities we serve.
I envy those who have gone on to greener pastures… but I’m eternally grateful I’m over the departmental hill.
@ Former ALADS Member
I have posed many questions to the current BOD, and they remain unanswered. What AV said and what he actually did were two different things, and actions taken by the previous department administration are irreparable. The rift AV broadened between those who think and act with both heart and mind, and those who value allegiance over the call for truly doing what’s right instead of what’s popular is unprecedented.
I have made a name for myself on this department; and it’s one the vast majority of current department execs don’t like hearing. Though I’m not the brightest bulb on the strip, I know we as a department would need to change the way we do things in order to survive.
We didn’t need McDonnel, we didn’t need AV, and Luna is facing an uphill battle…. LASD still needs to do some soul searching to determine what’s truly important re: our values…. What truly makes us great. It’s not how we treat each other, or how we hold each other accountable… like I said; time for a real deep hard look.
If we identify what truly makes us unique/better than other agencies…. that needs to be instilled/supported into the BOD.
@TraditionOfService – Truly an expensive, unpopular & humiliating lesson for ALADS members.
Hopefully the new generation of deputies will learn from this, resulting in positive changes.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but Bob Lindsey (who I had hoped would win) got his Arse handed to him in the Primaries. It was at that point Alex forced the run off, and yes we all wanted Buckles gone, so Kudos for ALADS doing the right thing at the right time. Nobody still expected Alex to win, but he did. Unfortunately for the department the wrong guys got to him and blew his ego up to gigantic proportions and the rest is history. Ron you guys did what you needed to do to help get Buckles out so thank you.
@Tradition of Service, guys like you need a bigger voice.
I agree with 99.9% of what you said but I need to remind you that ALADS did not endorse AV over Bob Lindsey. Bob Lindsey got beat in the primary.
So, in essence he was on the candidate “stage” and lost, with absolutely no intervention from ALADS, for ether candidate.
If you think ALADS should have taken the risk on Bob Lindsey, contrary to our polling then you would in fact be Monday morning QBing.
Bringing it back to the subject of this post, Alex failed all of us.
If he had learned to collaborate (not bow down), the voters would have seen some potential.
It’s hard to collaborate when you think your ideas are the only good ideas.
I have known Bob Olmsted for close to 40 years. I have always found him to be an honest, ethical, reliable voice for what is best for the sheriffs department. I will also say that Villanueva was a mixed bag to say the least. His loss in the election was a self-inflicted wound, as he could never figure out how to fine-tune his message, and to tone down his inflammatory rhetoric.
I don’t think he stands a chance against Janice Hahn in the election. Her dad oversaw politics in LA county for decades, and a lot of people will not forget that. My guess is he’s angling to run for Sheriff again in three years and is using this time to bolster his name recognition and get free publicity.
Sadly for the LASD, the current Sheriff is just another putz. He’s a lefty, political advocate of our idiot DA, George Gascon. He cannot, and will not support the line personnel. He is out of his depth, and does not deserve to be sheriff of LA county.
An ALADS endorsement of Lindsey wouldn’t have accomplished squat. He would have been nothing more than a White guy running against an incumbent Sheriff. AV ran as an Hispanic Democrat and followed that up with a healthy heaping spoonful of ballot harvesting. And it worked. Even if you’re AV’s harshest critic, you have to admit his strategy was brilliant. The problem was, as soon as he took office he turned back into AV; a petty complainer who throws fits when he doesn’t get his way. That’s why he never made it beyond station watch commander in his previous life. And that’s why most of his inner circle bailed on him.
Despite all his flaws, AV is ten times better than that disheveled carpetbagger sitting in the chair now. Not only is the current guy politically weak, but now we’re finding out he’s nothing more than Gascon’s water boy. You thought the firings were bad under McDonnell??? Wait until Kermit the Frog gets reelected as DA. He and the other puppet are going to team up to criminally prosecute deputies with a fervor while going soft on every third strike felon who comes through the system. Enjoy the mass laterals and watching fire departments bolster their ranks with former deputies.
Weak excuses over spilled milk only furthers the comedic stage at LASD.
LASD is their own worst enemy with the Los Angeles County Taxpayers as V/1.
The laterals in motion and deputies sitting on cush positions counting the days until retirement is the goal.
So glad to be gone but never forgetting the idiots who made it worse which includes ALADS and their internal cliques.
Getting back to the original commentary, we all agree on one thing for sure, no votes or financial backing for Alex Villanueva in any Los Angeles County Government.
@Anonymous- LASD (and ALADS for that matter) need to learn from over a decade of oversight and criticism from those that employ us. Nepotism and allegiances to eras gone by are still the two favorite flavors on this dwindling department… those flavors have gone bad.
@See Ya- AV had an agenda from the get go… he didn’t need any additional guidance. He spent over three decades climbing to get one butter bar; and that has been achieved in less than a decade by several current department personnel. The debate regarding if that’s appropriate would be another whole firestorm conversation… but the job duties of that rank have changed dramatically since those who would criticize it most on this page. But based on how AV treated their jackets upon review… it’s plain to see it hit him deep.
Good leaders give credit where credit is due…. That was nonexistent for the last 4 years. The most noticeable change was the broadening gap between command staff and the foot soldiers… and I haven’t seen it improve.
@ Ron Hernandez-My voice is known, trust me. I am known. But I’m not a “yes man”… and I’ve never been a fan of brown nosing. The majority of the tales heard on this department are either delusions of grandeur, or are so far from origin they’re unrecognizable.
Truth be told, there are still too many people on this great department who either believe they’re untouchable, or are oblivious to the complexity of what we are up against if we believe we stand a chance of salvaging at least a small portion the part of our legacy we should be proud of.
@Anonymous, I’m going to make an attempt to have an adult conversation with you.
Please explain your reference to ALADS as “idiots” and “internal cliques.” Or, would you simply prefer to sound like the public who call us “gang members” without any real proof?
@Tradition of Service, when I took over in 2016 we changed a lot of “business as usual” starting with our main attorney who played favorites, followed by a bylaw change that allows any ALADS member in good standing to run for the board.
Then regarding the yearly scholarships we give to kids of members, I brought in 3 English teachers from a local high school to grade them, blind, as opposed to previously done by directors.
How can you say ALADS needs to learn from the nepotism and allegiances that our department still tends to follow today.
I can totally understand why people don’t get all warm and fuzzy about ALADS, because unless you are really involved it’s hard to understand the decisions that are made, such as the decision to support AV.
It was also mentioned that new young blood should be running ALADS. I partially disagree.
We/I encourage the younger deputies to get involved. Start by being a heavily involved Unit Rep, then run for the board, although we made it so you don’t have to.
I feel the release time directors (president and VP) should always, when possible, be a deputy who is close to retirement and has nothing to lose when standing up to tge department.
If nothing else you get to come on here, use your real name and have fun with truth.
@Ron Hernandez-
I’m not reading too deep into your tenure at the helm for ALADS. I know you did what you could, and faced criticism at nearly every angle. Like I said, I wouldn’t want the job.
What I meant by the nepotism/allegiances is the detrimental effect those topics are now having on our department. How do we shed them? What was truly accomplished over the last four years that will benefit those still doing the job?
By no means am I young blood. I mentioned I’ve brought bonafide concerns to the current BOD, and they went nowhere. Eerily similar to the way LASD still runs; out of sight, out of mind. I am that old school, where I will stand up for what’s right, and not tuck my tail between my legs and cower… but that ideology is no longer appreciated within our ranks.
At the end of the day, I want to retire knowing I did everything in my power to be as effective as I possibly could be. However, that’s impossible with the way our department is still operating… you know, where the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing?
@ Tradition of Service, you continue to make great points. I don’t know how close you are to retirement, but I had many of the same gripes and decided to do a little more than bring my gripes to BOD.
I’ll admit I waited way too long, as I got elected 6 months before I was originally suppose to retire. My gripes were important enough to make me stay an additional 5 years.
Don’t get me wrong every year I told myself it was the last. My pending 60th birthday, my young daughter and a capable VP to step in as president is what made me call it quits.
I believe ALADS currently has a good board of directors, but if you’re bringing concerns that they’re ignoring, you have two choices,
First, you can bring them concerns AND solutions, then challenge them to implement your valid solutions.
I’m not talking about unrealistic feel good requests, I’m talking about “why didn’t I think of that” requests that all members would consider failure if they didn’t follow your advice.
Second, you could run for the BOD and rally support from within. You don’t have to be the president, although it’s great position to TRY to be heard, although thankless.
The first year I was on the BOD, as a director at large, four us (majority) rallied to start implementing change. When that became too much of a battle, we rolled the president and VP, for not listening to common sense ideas.
If you give that a shot I think you would truly feel like you did all you can. I’m not saying you haven’t done enough, but there may be an opportunity to do even more.
In fairness to the current BOD, I think they’re doing a really good job and you can’t make everyone happy.
That being said, when the Janus decision got rid of “Agency Shop” and we changed the bylaws to make it easier to run against us, someone asked me if I was concerned that angry deputies might take me out.
My answer was; if I am doing a good job and communicating the good and explaining the bad, to the members, I would expect the well informed understanding deputies to keep me in office.
And if I don’t get re-elected it’s no ones fault but my own!
@ Ron Hernandez,
You can’t un ring the bell. Unlike the public and many commenters, I was there.
History at ALADS is set in stone and hopefully it’ll get better without the biases.
Lets not attempt to be coy or query the inner & outer working reality within ALADS. I was there.
Cliques and factions did/does exist as well. Everyone in the Rep Corp was not pro Ron as you knew.
I’ll end with this, for those who weren’t there, they would HAVE had to be there.
Trust me, I was not the lone stranger within the ranks with conversations for improvement that was panned over or ignored.
No bitterness, no thumbs up, only two fingers indicating deuces.
Celeste, some how my comment starting with “@Tradition of Service you make good points” got labeled as “Anonymous.”
Unlike the person who calls himself “Anonymous” I sign my name so people who know me can judge my comments as real or fabricated.
@Anonymous, once again a whole lot of accusations with no facts.
Like I often say on posts. People tend to write how they talk. And sometimes they post too much ultimately revealing who they are.
You slipped up when you used the term deuces.
I’m not many people’s favorite person. So what? That’s what happens when tell people the truth.
Hey genius, while your weaving your tail of “Bad, Bad Ron” why don’t you wrap up by explaining how or why I got elected 3 different times, for a total of 5 1/2 years.
Can’t wait to hear your tail of corruption, ballot harvesting and manipulation. Lol!
Editor’s note:
Ron, I don’t have a clue how the comment you’re referring to got labeled “Anonymous,” but that’s how it arrived at our end.
Your usual comments, indeed, always have your name.
Anyway, if you find any other inconsistencies, let me know.
Have a good night.
C.
Ron, I give you a civil conversation and yet still, you can’t handle the truth. Oh well…….
@Anonymous, you should change your posting name to “Fred Astaire” with all the tap dancing you do.
Instead of vague accusations how about some facts.
I asked a question, that you didn’t answer. How did I get re-elected 3 times if I was so disliked? The rep core is usually the most informed.
The Sheriff’s Unions thought that McDonnell was too harsh, due to their own lack of discipline.
While neither (Villanueva or McDonnell) are coming back, Jim McDonnell has moved on and is doing very well.
@Deputy Sheriff
Regarding your 11/13 post @ 0731 hrs, you hit the nail on the head!
ALADS, under the guidance and financial support, authorized be none other than the dirty hands of Little Ron, 100% own the long-term damage caused by Alex “The Clown” VILLAINueva and his trusty Sweatpee.
Little Ron can live on social media sites trying to justify his “the membership spoke” b.s. reasons for supporting The Clown over a sound, respected and experienced law enforcement leader like McDonnell, while refusing to ever acknowledge he failed his same membership to understand the ramifications of gifting over a million dollars in union membership dollars to a failed and retired lieutenant who had an LASD career mired in mediocrity.
Go ahead Lil Ron, keep doubling down on stupid (comments) while trying to continuously justify and rewrite the history of your substantial errors in judgement that have caused irreparable damage to the LASD and the current day membership.
Just seeing this but my only comment, well publicly at least, is this: If you are going to engage in a personal debate with someone here who uses his real name such as Ron, you should be man/woman enough to use your real name too. Otherwise, your opinion is summarily discounted. Have a great TDay everyone.
@ A.V. Clown Show
You hit “bulls eye” describing Lil Ron, all talk with unlimited excuses at the expense of ALADS Members.
Ron’s malfeasance mirrors Alex’s flip flopping reign which is sealed in LASD’S History. as well as ALADS.
Rat us out Sir!
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-26/after-years-long-fight-former-sheriff-agrees-to-comply-with-subpoena-from-oversight-commission
El Bandito:
How long did you imposters think you would get away with your cowardice?
“New Sheriff”
Not very long to be honest.. Because we’re some big, bad dumb fools!!
“New Sheriff”
We are second to all!!!!! We are our worst enemy!!