Two-way election duel for Fresno County sheriff will have huge, lasting consequences
Laying the official ballot for California’s June 7 primary flat on my desk, my eyes scanned the various races looking for a vote of great consequence.
Most don’t qualify simply due to the paring-down nature of our elections system. In November we’ll be choosing between two candidates running for the same offices. Others fail because the Fresno area has an unfortunate number of uncontested races.
Not until the second-to-last box — sincere apologies to the two individuals vying for a six-month congressional term — did one appear that meets the standard: the contest for Fresno County Sheriff between Assistant Sheriff John Zanoni and Fresno Deputy Police Chief Mark Salazar.
Without a doubt, this is the most important choice the 500,197 registered voters of Fresno County will make during this election cycle. (That is, those who bother to vote. Turnout will be less than 25%, based on historical data.)
Fortunately, we have two good options. After taking my own candidate deep dive, I believe Zanoni and Salazar would both make successful sheriffs. They are of similar age, share similar qualifications and give similar answers to questions about specific issues. As an example, both are staunch advocates of concealed weapons permits and identified increasing the capacity of the county jail as their top priority.
The obvious difference is the perspective each would bring to a Fresno County Sheriff’s Office given a $280 million budget in the 2021-22 fiscal year. (The Fresno Police Department budget is $204 million, by comparison.)
Zanoni is the handpicked successor of retiring Sheriff Margaret Mims and is a Fresno native who has spent his entire 26-year law enforcement career working his way up through the department’s chain of command.
Besides being the inside choice, Zanoni represents the greatest assurance that one of Fresno County’s two primary law enforcement agencies, as well as the county jail and coroner’s office, will continue to operate as they have under Mims. Perhaps some tinkering (Zanoni said he would realign patrol beats that have been in place since 1996) but no significant shift in policy.
Salazar the face of change
Salazar is the face of change, and not just because he’d become the county’s first Latino sheriff. A 25-year Fresno PD veteran, Salazar currently serves as deputy chief of investigations after holding just about every job in the department besides that of chief. (He was a candidate in the 2019 and ’20 searches that produced Andy Hall and Paco Balderrama, respectively.)
Unlike the virtually unknown Zanoni — Mims absorbed so much of the spotlight her underlings were rarely allowed any public shine — Salazar has an established reputation due to longstanding relationships with community leaders and his work with youth groups such as the Police Activities League.
Salazar, who grew up in a rough East Bakersfield neighborhood before attending Fresno State, is also a Democrat. Something that frightens the bejeebers out of Fresno County’s Republican establishment desperately trying to cling to power despite an ever-increasing voter registration deficit.
Which explains why Zanoni enjoys a 2 to 1 edge in campaign fundraising thanks in no small part to contributions from wealthy farmers, developers and business owners. Zanoni reported $104,622 cash on hand as of March 22 and has collected $62,497 since, according to my tabulations. Salazar reported $52,541 cash on that same date and has collected $31,136 since. (Yes, I tabulated each 497 form.)
No matter who wins, the department’s inner workings could get tricky.
Especially for Salazar, the outsider, since a newly elected sheriff can only be as effective as those beneath him in the chain of command. So in order for Salazar to succeed, his biggest task will be convincing the department’s executive staff (Zanoni included) to support the new boss rather than undermine him.
Mims tabs Zanoni over her No. 2
Zanoni would also be a new boss, of course. As assistant sheriff, he supervises captains and lieutenants who manage patrol deputies, detectives, dispatchers, records, human resources and vehicles.
But neither Zanoni, nor fellow assistant sheriff Steve McComas, who oversees the jail, courts and coroner’s office, is the No. 2 guy in the department. Both Zanoni and McComas report to Undersheriff Steve Wilkins, named to that position by Mims in 2013.
I can’t say for sure why Mims passed over Wilkins to tab Zanoni as her successor, but she did.
(It’s also worth noting the department’s three assistant sheriffs and five captains are all men. Which makes you wonder whether Mims repaired the glass ceiling after she broke it.)
One thing history tells us about Fresno County sheriffs is that once someone gets elected, he or she tends to remain in office until they decide it’s time to exit. In fact, 1974 was the last time an incumbent lost an election. (On that occasion it was a contested vote that became something of a debacle.)
It has been even longer than that (1954) since the county’s voters elected a sheriff who did not rise up through the department’s own ranks.
Unlike most other races on the June 7 ballot, there will be no runoff between Zanoni and Salazar in November. Whomever gets the most votes will become sheriff, effective January 2023, and seems likely to occupy that office for multiple terms.
No choice made by Fresno County voters in this election cycle will have greater, deeper consequences. So consider wisely.
