LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s Unlikely Rise to Power

This week, we bring you the first episode of the new season of a podcast from LAist Studios called Imperfect Paradise: The Sheriff. KPCC correspondent Frank Stoltze explores how a former Sheriff’s lieutenant with almost no leadership experience rose to become the head of the largest law enforcement agency west of the Mississippi, and how he turned out to be a leader with authoritarian tendencies. Alex Villanueva, a longshot maverick candidate, ran for LA County Sheriff as a progressive reformer and won, surprising everyone. After taking office in 2018, he mocked reform, resisted oversight, and launched criminal investigations of his enemies. Now, the people who propelled him to power are looking to boot him from office in this year's election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices