By 2UrbanGirls
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — The Stonewall Democratic Club held its endorsement meeting Dec. 19 and endorsed Eric Strong for Los Angeles County sheriff.
“The Sheriff’s Department is broken, and across the country, we are seeing calls for a reimagining of our policing models,” said Stonewall President Alex Mohajer in a statement. “Our organization has a unique responsibility to urge policing reforms.
“Eric Strong is the only candidate to talk about compassion in policing and propose concrete ideas for disbanding deputy gangs and evaluating police performance. He went on record offering Stonewall and other community stakeholders a seat at the table — and we intend to hold him to it.”
Strong captured 63% of the vote from club members over Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Los Angeles Airport Police Chief Cecil Rhambo, retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, and Eli Vera, a member of the Sheriff’s Department.
“I am here to do what’s best for this community, and for all of our families,” Strong said.
Villanueva’s campaign manager Javier Gonzalez said he didn’t think the club’s endorsement process was neutral.
“The Democratic Party endorsements have long ceased being neutral arbitrators of who is the best candidate,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a circus ran by paid operatives and insiders.”
Rhambo’s campaign made no public comments on the endorsement process, despite having support from the L.A. County Democratic Party.
Candidates will next appear before the Democratic Central Committee and must receive 60% of the vote to secure the actual endorsement from the party.
2 Urban Girls is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers who covers the Compton and Inglewood areas. She can be reached at 2urbangirls@gmail.com.