BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
One of the candidates for Santa Clara County Sheriff is backed by labor unions, and the other is getting more support from elected officials.
Retired Capt. Kevin Jensen has received $200,000 from the union for jail guards and the union for sheriff’s deputies. He has raised $692,298 this year, according to campaign finance documents.
Former Palo Alto Chief Bob Jonsen has raised $77,949 and loaned his campaign $30,000.
Jonsen is supported by Rep. Anna Eshoo, Assemblyman March Berman, Supervisor Joe Simitian, Assessor Larry Stone and the majority of Palo Alto City Council.
Jensen’s union support doesn’t end with the deputies and jail guards that he would oversee. He is also supported by unions in San Jose, Los Altos, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz County and San Mateo County.
The Palo Alto police union doesn’t make endorsements, but its president, Sgt. Ken Kratt, donated to Jensen’s campaign. So did former Chief Dennis Burns and Councilman Greer Stone, who successfully challenged Jonsen’s assertion that the Palo Alto Police Department was required to encrypt its radios last year.
Jensen and Jonsen are running on similar platforms. They say they want to improve operations in the jail, boost officer morale, focus on mental health and allow for more oversight. They also say they would reform a culture of corruption that has plagued the office under Sheriff Laurie Smith, who is retiring after 24 years.
Since both candidates say they’re committed to reform, they’ve argued that their backgrounds are what sets them apart. Jensen is the insider and Jonsen is the outsider.
Jensen says he has been calling out corruption in the sheriff’s office throughout his 28-year career, and he knows how to fix the jail as its former assistant chief.
Someone with existing knowledge and relationships is best suited for the job, Jensen said at a debate hosted by the League of Women Voters.
At the same debate, Jonsen called out Jensen for retiring in 2013. Since then, Jonsen said he has spearheaded reforms, reduced crime and led departments in Menlo Park and Palo Alto.
“Retirement is a funny word,” Jensen responded. He said he has been working on nonprofit boards and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in that time.
“I’ve served here through every bit of that retirement,” he said.
“I appreciate Kevin’s commitment to this community, to this profession” Jonsen said. “I just believe it’s time for change.”
Jensen didn’t bring up Jonsen’s record in Palo Alto, which includes three police brutality lawsuits, one sergeant arrested for assault, and a decision to encrypt police radios to prevent the public from listening in.
In the June 7 primary, Jonsen came in first with 32% of the vote and Jensen recived 30.5%.
Jensen ran against Smith in 2014 and lost with 41% of the vote. Santa Clara County police unions raised $235,000 for that campaign.
Jensen or Jonsen will be Santa Clara County’s first new sheriff since 1998. Smith is retiring after 24 years while facing a Civil Grand Jury accusation to remove her from office. She is accused of taking bribes in exchange for gun permits and withholding records related to the jail from a police oversight office.
What’s worse, politicians or unions? How about a candidate who doesn’t have any special interests backing him.