Riverside County Sheriff: Sniff and Bianco to face off in November election

Alena Maschke , Alena Maschke | Palm Springs Desert Sun

Show Caption Hide Caption Palm Springs residents get up early to vote in California primary Palm Springs residents Michael Kape and Paula Johnson talk with the Desert Sun about the long and 'complicated' ballot as well as the controversial vacation rental ordinance, Measure C.

The race for Riverside County Sheriff is headed to a run-off in November after longtime incumbent Stan Sniff was edged out by a challenger from within his own department, Lt. Chad Bianco.

As of Wednesday morning, with all precincts reporting, Bianco had received 35 percent of the vote, besting Sniff, who got 33 percent. Challengers Dave Brown got nearly 20 percent and Miguel Garcia had close to 12 percent.

While no comparison to this year's bid for California governor, the race for Riverside County Sheriff has been one of the more crowded competitions of the local election cycle.

Incumbent Stan Sniff faced three opponents, two of them from within his own department. While Deputy Miguel Garcia of the Moreno Valley station had only been moderately active on the campaign trail since he announced his bid, Lt. Chad Bianco has been campaigning aggressively against his current department head.

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Mainly, Bianco has accused Sniff of mismanaging funds and staff, being immune to criticism and stifling innovation, leading to staffing challenges in the department. "The morale is pretty bad, which causes a serious problem with attrition," Bianco told members of the Desert Sun Editorial Board.

Candidate Dave Brown, former chief of the Hemet Police Department, has mainly been in tune with Bianco in his criticism of Sniff.

"Most people don’t realize that our Sheriff’s Department is literally operating in the dark-ages," Brown wrote in response to a Desert Sun candidate questionnaire. "The Sheriff should be leading the County in innovation, technology and data-driven policing. Instead, the Sheriff lags behind all other police agencies in the county."

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What set Bianco's campaign apart from that of his two fellow challengers to incumbent Sniff was his impressive war chest. Mostly funded by the Riverside Sheriff's Association, a union Sniff has been battling in and outside of court, Bianco amassed campaign funds of close to $700,000.

But it was not only opposition from within his own department and the RSA that overshadowed Sniff's campaign. The current sheriff has also battling with the Riverside County Board of Supervisors over budgetary constraints placed on his department.

"The sheriff would have an incredible amount of resources if he changed the way he deployed his resources," opponent Dave Brown told the Desert Sun Editorial Board.

Sniff repeatedly rebuffed his opponents' accusations that he was mismanaging funds. "Even when deep budget cuts are decided upon by the board of supervisors, we “live within our means” as decided or directed by the County," Sniff wrote in response to a Desert Sun candidate questionnaire.

One of Sniff's main opponents on the board of supervisors, 2nd District Supervisor Jeff Tavaglione, did not run for re-election. Voters' decisions on his successor are likely to set the tone for the relationship between the newly or re-elected sheriff and the board of supervisors going forward.

With all precincts reporting Wednesday morning, it appears as if Dave Brown and Miguel Garcia will not qualify for the general election in November.

Brown said he still considers his preliminary 20 percent a success.

"I think the story tonight is that almost 70 percent of the voters have lost confidence in the incumbent sheriff," Brown said. "If that's part of what we helped the voters to realize, then we've done our job."