California’s elected Sheriffs have been the most outspoken critics of Gov. Newsom’s abuses of power. So now there’s a bill to muzzle them.

“The more smack California sheriffs talk, the more they’re asking to be handcuffed,” begins an LA Times op-ed making the case for AB 1185.

The bill would create a so-called “oversight board” and “inspector general” in each county, armed with subpoena power, with no other purpose than to harass elected sheriffs with investigations.

Genuine oversight already exists in law. This is political payback.

The bill was left for dead last year, but was resurrected a few weeks ago right after sheriffs spoke out against Gov. Newsom’s executive overreach in a number of ways:

• At least five sheriffs told Gov. Newsom his orders are “unconstitutional and unenforceable.”

• One Sheriff “chided Newsom for issuing orders like an emperor, and characterized the directives as unconstitutional infringements on freedoms,” according to the Fresno Bee.

• The Bee reported in late May that “several central San Joaquin Valley sheriffs posted on social media their displeasure with Gov. Gavin Newsom and his emergency orders related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

• The Sheriffs of Tulare County and Merced County said they would direct deputies to go after criminals and not “law-abiding citizens.”

• The Orange County Sheriff declined to make his department “mask police,” leading to reports of a “clash” with Gov. Newsom

A recent editorial decries all of this as a “rebellion by local sheriffs.” The title of the editorial, which features a cartoon of a smirking sheriff with an oversized head, reads: “Newsom must get tough on virus-defiant sheriffs.”

It goes on to say: “The carrot plainly hasn’t worked well enough; it’s time for the stick.”

AB 1085 is that stick. It is not about police reform, criminal justice reform, or oversight. It is an attempt by the Governor’s allies to control anyone who gets in the way of his unilateral power.

We have been fighting to hold Newsom accountable on multiple fronts: a lawsuit set for trial on Oct. 21; an Assembly Concurrent Resolution to cut off his emergency powers; an investigation into the data failures that led his Public Health Director to resign.

But the Governor is going in the other direction, trying to stifle opposition and silence critics – including campaigning for my opponent in November’s election.

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