After Orange County’s sheriff was indicted on corruption charges on
2007, supervisors made a point of looking beyond the county limits to
find a replacement who was free of the cronyism and scandal that had
tainted the office.
A retired Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department
division chief, Sandra Hutchens was lauded by one county supervisor for
being "removed from the political machinations in the county" and was
seen as a welcome breath of fresh air in a department that had been led
for decades by politically connected lawmen.
But now, facing
her first election bid, Hutchens is fighting criticism that she’s too
much of an outsider, a career cop from Los Angeles who just doesn’t
understand Orange County.
As sheriff, Hutchens shook up her
command staff, threatened to rescind concealed weapons permits handed
out by former Sheriff Michael S. Carona and struck an independent tone
that rubbed some county supervisors the wrong way, at times leaving
them out of the loop or having to ask questions after decisions had
been made.
Critics called it her L.A. style, a derisive term
in Orange County’s political sphere, where Los Angeles is seen as being
too liberal, a place where headstrong and overly autonomous leaders
reign.
Hutchens’ opponents in the June election have made political ammunition out of her L.A. roots, hoping to end her tenure.
In
deriding Hutchens’ proposal to house federal immigration detainees in
two county jails, one of her opponents, Anaheim Deputy Chief Craig
Hunter, wrote, "That is how they balance budgets and fight crime in Los
Angeles County, from where our current sheriff arrived."
–Raja Abdulrahim in Santa Ana
Photo: L.A. Times file