Livermore's Yesenia Sanchez Becomes 2nd To Challenge Sheriff

ALAMEDA COUNTY, CA — Yesenia Sanchez, a 24-year veteran of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, has launched a bid to replace Sheriff-Coroner Greg Ahern.

Sanchez, a Hayward native and lifelong Californian, serves as a division commander at Dublin's Santa Rita Jail and manages more than 600 workers and oversees a $270 million budget, according to a statement announcing the launch of her campaign. She worked her way up from a job as a sheriff's technician in 1997.

Sanchez now resides in Livermore with her husband, Todd.

The sheriff's office needs new leadership that is rooted in the community and held to account, Yesenia Sanchez said.

“I am running for Sheriff because the approach of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office as a law enforcement agency needs to change," she said in a statement. "Community engagement, transparency and accountability need to be our priorities."

Sanchez said she would collaborate with the oversight committee to ensure the office is kept accountable and work with community organizations to ensure they're getting support from the office. She would also focus on crime prevention and safety through areas such as mental health support, crisis intervention and de-escalation trainings.

The sheriff's office should work with local organizations to equip Santa Rita Jail with mental health resources and education to ensure incarcerated individuals have "the support, training and skills they need in order to be set up for success and contribute positively once they re-enter the community," Sanchez said.

Ahern, who said he will seek re-election, hasn't faced a foe since he first stepped up to helm the sheriff's office 14 years ago.

Alameda County progressives have long sought to oust Ahern but struggled to find qualified candidates.

Organizers even mounted a campaign to change state law to make it easier for candidates to run for sheriff if they are not law enforcement officers, Oaklandside reported. Ahern questioned the wisdom of the proposal and wondered whether people without law enforcement experience would be qualified to run the department, he told Oaklandside.

Sanchez became the second woman to announce her candidacy on Tuesday. JoAnn Walker — an Alameda County resident, San Francisco police officer and 26-year law enforcement veteran — also threw her hat in the ring.

Alameda County sheriff's Capt. Michael Carroll announced plans to run in February but folded his campaign less than a month later.

Voters will decide Alameda County's next sheriff-coroner in the 2022 primary election.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of years Sanchez has lived in Livermore.