Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco telling veterans at the Veterans First Fair about a Marine who gave his life for America in the recent Afghanistan evacuation and urging all those veterans returning from deployment to America to get help from other vets or veterans’ agencies available in Riverside County. Valley News/Tony Ault photo
RIVERSIDE (CNS) - Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco was heading for a second term today after beating back a challenge from retired sheriff's Capt. Michael Lujan during Tuesday's election.
Bianco, who resides in Riverside, was first elected in 2018, after a hard-fought contest against then-Sheriff Stan Sniff. Bianco has been tested on several fronts since then, drawing both criticism and praise.
Bianco gained wide attention at the height of the statewide coronavirus public health lockdowns in the fall of 2020, declaring that he would not dedicate sheriff's resources to enforcing any part of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home orders, including a curfew.
That same year, he also took a stand against the anti-law enforcement crusades on the heels of the George Floyd custody death furor in
