Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva stirred controversy a few years ago when he rehired a deputy accused of domestic violence .
But now, amid his run for county supervisor, it’s Villanueva himself who would have trouble getting rehired.
The Los Angeles Times reports that because of Villanueva’s attacks on Inspector General Max Huntsman, a county oversight panel found that the former sheriff “violated several policies against discrimination and harassment” and “should receive a ‘Do Not Rehire’ notation” in his file.
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Specific instances included Villanueva’s repeated use of Huntsman’s “foreign-sounding birth name, Max-Gustaf,” and baseless allegations that Huntsman is a Holocaust denier, the Times added. Villanueva did not return the Times’ request for comment.
Huntsman claims his dispute with Villanueva dates back to 2019 when his office began investigating the deputy rehiring controversy.
In addition to Huntsman, Villanueva sparred often with the L.A. County supervisors, especially Supervisor Janice Hahn, a continued target of his on X, formerly Twitter .