Sacramento County’s top two law enforcement officials’ political careers end with a whimper
The June 7, 2022, California Primary election marked the apparent end of the political careers of Sacramento County’s top two elected law enforcement officials. Instead of leaving office on top, Sacramento County District Attorney Ann Marie Schubert and Sheriff Scott Jones ended their elected careers with a whimper.
First elected as District Attorney as former long-time Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully’s hand-picked successor in 2014, Schubert failed in her bid to advance out of the primary in the race for California Attorney General. Schubert dropped her Republican registration after her 2018 reelection and ran as an Independent as part of her strategy.
Schubert finished fourth with only about 7-percent of the statewide vote. More embarrassing is her second-place finish in her Sacramento County political base behind Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta.
In her defeat, Schubert acknowledged the difficulty of running without major party support and, more importantly, her inability to raise enough money to purchase advertising in major markets like Los Angels and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Succeeding Schubert is Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Thien Ho, who easily defeated Alana Mathews. Schubert easily won office in 2014 and 2018 and probably would have won reelection to a third term as DA had she not entered the Attorney General’s race.
For Republican Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, his third-place finish in the District 3 U.S. House of Representatives took many political observers by surprise. Jones finished behind Democrat Dr. Kermit Jones, and Republican California Assemblymember Kevin Kiley in a district thought to be solidly conservative.
The latest vote tallies from the California Secretary of State show Jones with 17-percent of the vote. For Jones, the defeat was the second time he had lost a Congressional race. In 2016 Jones’ narrowly lost his challenge to Dr. Ami Bera for California’s 8th Congressional District.
Unlike Schubert, who still had widespread support in Sacramento County, Jones faced headwinds had he run for a fourth term. Jones will be succeeded by Assemblymember Jim Cooper, who lost his 2010 Sacramento County Sheriff bid against Jones.
In TV interviews last night following his defeat, Jones promised to continue his advocacy for issues dear to him, such as border and immigration enforcement. Without the sheriff’s platform, it’s unlikely his voice will have relevance.
