KTLA

L.A. County Sheriff Villanueva demotes high-ranking official who is trying to unseat him

When Eli Vera, a high-ranking official under Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, entered the race to unseat his boss, he planned to keep his place as one of Villanueva’s top advisors.

Villanueva had a different idea.


In a letter last week, Villanueva notified Vera he was being demoted from a chief to a commander. It was, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman indicated, an unapologetic move made to shut a competitor out from planning meetings that the sheriff regularly holds with senior staff.

“The law is firmly established that … those who serve as confidential advisors to an elected leader, cannot oppose him/her politically and keep their post,” Capt. John Satterfield wrote in response to questions from The Times. “Who has ever heard of a cabinet secretary running against the president who appointed them?”

Read the full story on LATimes.com.