Election 2022: Q&A with candidates for Placer County Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal

Undersheriff Wayne Woo and Sergeant Brandon Bean will face off in the June 7 primary election for the Placer County Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal position. The Sheriff's duties include building partnerships, preventing and resolving crime, marshal security of courts and efficient investigation of coroner cases. The Sheriff is also responsible for the care and custody of individuals within county jail facilities. In the primary, the candidate who earns 50 percent of the votes plus one will win the seat and begin a four-year term in 2023. The Auburn Journal reached out to both candidates and asked four questions pertaining to the Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal position. Their answers follow: Wayne Woo Occupation: County Undersheriff Experience: I have over 31 years of law enforcement experience, with the last 28 of those years being here at the Placer County Sheriff's Office. As a deputy, I worked a variety of assignments to include investigations, SWAT, training, special operations, and narcotics. As I have promoted through the ranks I have spent over five years at each level of the organization, to include sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and undersheriff. As undersheriff, I have spent the last five years as the second in command and run the day to day operations of the sheriff's office. I also hold a master's degree in Justice Management from the University of Nevada, Reno. Website: woo4sheriff.com Why are you running for the Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal position? I am running for Placer County Sheriff in order to maintain our high quality of life and our low crime rates. As undersheriff, I have been successfully running our complex agency for over five years. With an operating budget of over $171 million and over 600 employees, it takes someone with a breadth of knowledge to successfully be the sheriff and I know I am by far the most qualified candidate. I have been mentored by Sheriffs Devon Bell and Ed Bonner and I will provide the continuity of leadership that has made our agency so successful. What is the biggest challenge the Sheriff's Office faces and how do you plan to address it? I think the biggest challenge we face is managing the tremendous growth we are facing in this community while implementing and adjusting to mandated criminal justice reform. Placer County already enjoys some of the lowest crime rates and the highest quality of life in the state. As our county grows, it will be imperative to focus on our proven community oriented policing approach, crime prevention, transparency, adequate staffing levels, and adequate jail bed space. We must continue to hold criminals accountable when Placer County residents are victimized. I will work with our Board of Supervisors to make sure public safety continues to be a top priority and is adequately funded. Who are your supporters and what do you think that says about your candidacy? I am supported by a variety of law enforcement and community leaders. This extensive list includes current Sheriff Devon Bell, Sheriff Ed Bonner (ret), District Attorney Morgan Gire, Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness (ret), Crime Victims United, Placer County Law Enforcement Management Association, the Rocklin and Roseville Chambers of Commerce, every Placer County mayor, and every member of the Board of Supervisors. The Office of the Sheriff is complex and the sheriff must be experienced and work collaboratively with a wide range of law enforcement leaders, government officials and community stakeholders. These stakeholders know I am the best candidate for the position, which is why my base of support is so diverse. While this is only a sampling of my support, I believe it shows my proven experience and support from not only law enforcement and criminal justice leaders but community leaders and small businesses. What can you do as Sheriff to help reform bail policy to ensure criminals stay off the street? Bail reform is a legislative matter and the current cash bail schedule is set by the courts. That being said, for the last seven years I have served on the California State Sheriff's Association Legislative Committee, so I am familiar with attempts to change the bail system. I do not support bail reform, or a zero cash bail system. I witnessed first hand some of the dangers of this system during the pandemic. None of the proposed bail reform policies can ensure criminals stay off the streets. However, our current system does provide accountability at no cost to our taxpayers. As Sheriff, I will continue to work on this committee and fight dangerous bail reform legislation that I believe jeopardizes public safety. Brandon Bean Occupation: Placer County Sergeant Experience: I have served as a peace officer in Placer County for 22 years. I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and have also graduated from the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute. In my professional career I have had assignments as a detective, been a member of the Special Enforcement Team and a special agent in a task force designed to fight the distribution of narcotics in our county. I currently serve as the Administrative Sergeant in the Placer County Sheriff's Office. I have worked with victims of crime and have suffered as a victim of crime when my brother, Officer Bill Bean Jr., was murdered. Website: bean4sheriff.com Why are you running for the Sheriff-Coroner-Marshal position? My motivation to seek the office of the Sheriff comes from my concern that too little is being done to protect our public, our Peace Officers, and the criminal justice system from influences that are undermining our safety. I am concerned this county is quickly moving toward policies that will destroy Placer County's reputation as a safe community and place the public at risk. Many of these policies, which are failing in other communities, have made their way into our county and have been quietly implemented for ideological or financial reasons. This has occurred because too many of our leaders have forgotten that the government's primary responsibility is public safety. As Sheriff, I will never turn a blind eye to attempts to implement short-sighted and politically driven policies that undermine our safety and undermine our peace officers. What is the biggest challenge the Sheriff's Office faces and how do you plan to address it? The morale at the Sheriff's Office is at an all-time low. My opponent often talks about his five years of experience as undersheriff. What he doesn't tell you is the poor job he has done that has caused that poor morale. The damage he has caused to the agency can be seen by the overwhelming number of deputies that voted to support my candidacy. My biggest challenge will be to repair and restore the morale of these dedicated public servants. The first step in supporting public safety is to support those that provide this safety. I pledge to always make the time to listen, and I will foster an environment that welcomes input from all employees of the Sheriff's office as well as the public. Every deputy and every staff member will be respected. Who are your supporters and what do you think that says about your candidacy? I am proud to be endorsed by members of the Placer County Deputy Sheriffs Association. They have worked for my opponent and have worked with me, and chosen overwhelmingly to endorse me for Sheriff. This is an endorsement from people who know the best candidate for Sheriff. I am also endorsed by Deputies of Sacramento, Nevada, El Dorado and Sierra Counties, the Police officers of the Roseville, Auburn, Sacramento, as well as the correctional officers, the probation officers, and the county employees that serve Placer County every day to preserve our quality of life and our safety. I am not supported by the entrenched politicians like my opponent. These politicians are effectively choosing who they want to be Sheriff. I am sure these politicians may have knowledge in areas that allow them to perform the duties of their office, but they do not know what it takes to effectively manage a law enforcement agency, nor have they ever worked for my opponent. The distinction in these endorsements makes it clear that politicians want a Sheriff who will do what they want while law enforcement wants a Sheriff that will work for public safety. What can you do as Sheriff to help reform bail policy to ensure criminals stay off the street? I will immediately open the two refurbished pods in the Auburn Jail that my opponent refused to open. I will stop the release of inmates with no-bail warrants or inmates with violent criminal histories without a judicial order. I will advocate the completion of the South Placer Jail as it was originally designed and promised. I will not justify the release of inmates based on the erroneous interpretation of the long-standing "Federal Consent Decree" like my opponent and the Sheriff's Office Administration have done. I will support in-custody educational and treatment programs and not waste money on the "metal shop" my opponent proposes as a solution. This will solve our jail release issue, restore credibility to our criminal justice system, reduce crime and save lives. Our current Sheriff's Administration is unwilling to inform the public of what is occurring in our system, unwilling to publicly fight for reforms that keep us safe, and oppose those who compromise our safety issues. I will fight for the repeal of Proposition 47 and fight to stop state sponsored bail reforms that are destined to ruin our community.