Less than a week after LA County Sheriff Lee Baca announced his resignation, Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell has announced that he’s running for sheriff in the June 3 election.
READ: LA County Sheriff Baca to Step Down at End of Month "on Own Terms"
McDonnell had initially expressed interest in running for sheriff but decided not to at the time because gathering the money necessary to take on a longtime incumbent such as Baca would distract him from his job as police chief.
READ: Long Beach Sees Lowest Violent Crime Drop in 41 Years
McDonnell has headed the Long Beach Police Department since 2010. Prior to that, he was the head of the LAPD's detective bureau.
READ: Long Beach Picks Its New Police Chief from the LAPD
Other candidates in the race for sheriff include Sheriff’s Cmdr. Bob Olmstead, who oversaw the troubled county jails, as well as under-Sheriff Paul Tanaka, who ran operations for the Sheriff's Department until last Summer when he stepped down amid a bitter and public falling out with his former boss.
