With the unexpected announcement early Tuesday morning that Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca would be retiring at the end of the month, attention has turned again to Long Beach’s Police Chief Jim McDonnell, who was considered a top contender for the position when he was “tapped by interested parties” to run against Baca in this year’s election.
McDonnell ultimately decided that he would not run against Baca due to what he said were “the political demands of a challenge to an incumbent,” however, Baca’s retirement five months before the end of his fourth term leaves a vacancy that will be filled by someone appointed by the Board of Supervisors. Whoever is appointed can then run for re-election in June.
Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert says the choice to replace Baca with McDonnell is “obvious.”
“I’ve worked closely with Chief McDonnell and seen him do well under pressure,” Haubert said. “He is the type of leader who can make a tough decision and still retain the respect of his officers. L.A. County Sheriff is a difficult job, and only someone with Chief McDonnell’s experience and leadership skills could do it well.”
Baca’s retirement announcement comes a month after a federal investigation into the L.A. County jail system found corruption and instances of violence that has since brought charges against 18 current and former deputies. The probe tainted public perception of the Department that Baca has led for the last 15 years and may have led the 48-year LASD veteran to his surprising decision.
“I don’t see myself as the future,” he said during his retirement announcement. “I see myself as part of the past.”
Though Baca recommended that the Board of Supervisors appoint his assistant sheriff Terri McDonald to replace him after he is gone, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky was the only one to publicly praise her as a candidate and Chief McDonnell’s name has reportedly been among a small number of other candidates.
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Supervisor Don Knabe, who represents Long Beach, tapped Chief McDonnell in 2011 as his choice for the Board’s Jail Violence Commission and McDonnell–the only gun-and-badge member of the commission–received praise for his part of the tough recommendations eventually issued to the Sheriff’s Department.
“[The Sheriff’s Department is] a large agency, the challenges that they are facing are immense,” McDonnell told the Press-Telegram last February when he was considering running for Sheriff. “It’s certainly an opportunity for someone with fresh eyes to come in and modify, to make some changes for the department and the community it serves.”
Chief McDonnell served 29 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, eventually serving as second in command under Bratton before taking over LBPD in 2010.
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