About Sheriff Alex Villanueva
Read Sheriff Villanueva's Op-Eds
- Opinion: Wage theft thrives in secrecy. Here’s how my office is working to stop it. (Medium)
- Opinion: Wage theft thrives in secrecy. Here’s how my office is working to stop it. (The Washington Post)
- Sheriff Alex Villanueva OP/ED: The Truth About LASD
- OP/ED: Los Angeles County Sheriff Villanueva Slams L.A. Times Editorial Board for ‘Promoting a False Narrative’
About Alex Villanueva
Alex Villanueva’s mother, Mary Ann was born and raised in Poland and his father Victor was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Alex was born in Chicago but spent his adolescent in Rochester, NY. At the age of 12, the Villaneuvas moved to Aguadillo, Puerto Rico for where his parents ran a small print shop in a safer community.
Alex Villanueva is the 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County, and he is the first Spanish-speaking sheriff in the county. In 2018, retired sheriff’s lieutenant Villanueva defeated incumbent Sheriff Jim McDonell, becoming the first to unseat the incumbent in over 100 years. Sheriff Villanueva also became the first Democratic Sheriff in LA County in almost 140 years.
Sheriff Villanueva is married to retired LA County Sheriff Sergeant Vivian Villanueva.
Education
- Villanueva earned an associate degree in Liberal Arts from San Bernardino Valley College in 1986.
- B.A. in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College, University of the State of New York, Regents College.
- Master of Public Administration from California State University, Northridge.
- Doctoral degree in Public Administration from University of La Verne. Villanueva’s dissertation focused on leadership diversity in law enforcement.
Career
Alex Villanueva is the 33rd Sheriff of Los Angeles County, and he is the first Spanish-speaking sheriff in the county. In 2018, retired sheriff’s lieutenant Villanueva defeated incumbent Sheriff Jim McDonell, becoming the first to unseat the incumbent in over 100 years. Sheriff VIllanueva also became the first Democratic Sheriff in LA County in almost 140 years.
Alex served our communities a member of the LA Sheriff’s Department for almost 35 years before becoming Sheriff.
Career at LASD:
- Custody, Century Regional Detention Facility.
- Patrol Deputy, East LA
- Drill Instructor at the Sheriff’s Academy Training Bureau
- California Army National Guard, Lieutenant (2nd Battalion, 144th Field Artillery Regiment, 40th Infantry Division).
- Sergeant, Lennox and Carson Sheriff Stations, the Community College Bureau, and the Advanced Officer Training unit.
- Watch Commander at the Pico Rivera Sheriff’s Station.
From 2006-2010 Alex was an Adjunct Professor of criminal justice at California State University, Long Beach.
Sheriff Villanueva is married to retired LA County Sheriff Sergeant Vivian Villanueva.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Los Angeles Sentinel
I was elected because of distrust in a department wrapped in many scandals regarding racial profiling, rising crime, a lack of transparency, and a failure to weed out unethical leadership. All of this was overshadowed by an unpopular collaboration with federal immigration agencies.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva on La Opinion
Fui elegido porque en el departamento habia desconfianza y escandalos con respecto a los perfiles raciales, el aumento de la delincuencia, la falta de transparencia y la incapacidad de eliminar el liderazgo no etico. Todo esto se vio ensombrecido por una colaboraci6n impopular con las agencias federales de inmigracion.