Olivares’ boasts 40 plus years experience in public service
Ernesto Olivares is a Santa Rosa City council member and is one of five candidates running for Sonoma County Sheriff. Primary elections are not until June 2018, but already, the race to replace the legacy of recently retired Sonoma County Sheriff Steve Freitas and current Sheriff Rob Giordano is heating up. Olivares spoke with Sonoma West Publishers to talk about his experience in law enforcement and what he could bring to the table as the new county sheriff.
Q. What brought you to Sonoma County?
A. I moved here [to Colusa, California] with my family from Mexico. We were dirt poor. When I say dirt poor, I mean our floor was dirt. I was hired by the Santa Rosa Police in 1979.
Q. What experience do you have in public service?
A. [From his candidacy website]: Olivares worked for the Santa Rosa Police Department from 1979 to 2008. As a patrol officer, he also served as a detective, crisis negotiator, field training officer. When he was promoted to sergeant, Olivares supervised a number of special units, including sex crime and family violence, personnel services, internal affairs, training, crisis negotiations, public information officer, acting commander. In 2004 he was promoted to lieutenant and served as watch commander, overseeing the deployment of officers in the field services division, managing the field training program and crisis negotiations unit. In 2006 he was appointed to lead Santa Rosa’s gang prevention and intervention services.
“I have 40-plus years experience in public service,” Olivares said. “I’ve been working alongside the Sheriff’s Department since 1979. I have experience in partnerships with many community organizations. In my role as executive director of CCVPN (California Cities Violence Prevention Network), I work with local and state organizations in effort to bring make law enforcement part of the community.”
Q. What made you want to run for sheriff?
A. I never really thought I’d put a uniform back on. There are a lot of complex issues right now: immigration, ICE, community policing, trust. I bring a lot of experience to the table and that’s what made me decide to run. If I thought someone inside the Sheriff’s Department had that experience, I wouldn’t be running. I feel we desperately need a change in Sonoma County.
Q. What are your campaign goals?
A. Number one is improving public trust. It’s big. We’ll never be done with it. We’ll always have to work at it. The same goes with community policing. We have to develop comprehensive strategies to engage with the community. It starts at the desk and goes to the Sheriff and doing that involves change in culture. Second [goal] is partnership issues. The department needs to partner more with the community and engage with them, especially when it comes to policy. We need their input so we are making the best policy for the department and for the community.
There’s a good report called 21st Century Policing from 2016. The report was put together because of national issues going on in law enforcement. It provides best practices, which aren’t new, but have been refreshed. [The report focuses on six pillars of policing, which include building trust, crime reduction, policy, training, technology and officer wellness and safety.]
Q. What can people expect from you as sheriff?
A. As sheriff, I would have high level of engagement with the community, especially with the youth. Often we don’t include them, but our policies affect them and impact them on a daily basis. We need to give a voice to them and I’ll be reaching out to them more. I also want to work with Jerry Threet’s Office (Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach). It’s important we don’t work against each other or in silos, but together to maximize our efforts.
Q. How do you spend your free time?
A. I have two grandkids who are 2 and 4 years old. It’s amazing to watch them grow. I live at the base of Taylor Mountain, so I tackle that daily. I like to ride my bike on the road. I do a little photography.
