Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson says he guided his department through the chaos of the recession.
The sheriff's department was hit with a 25 percent cut in staffing and services.
Now Christianson says the department is making a comeback with $120 million to be spent on new public safety facilities.
"We're hiring again for the first time in four years, we are starting to rebuild and restore the levels of service and staffing we were forced to cut because of the economy," says Christianson.
Stanislaus County Sheriff's Deputy Tom Letras says he has 17 years of law enforcement experience in dealing with gangs, jail custody, patrol, and hostage negotiations.
He says the department has problems and he wants to solve them.
"The number of lawsuits and the morale within the department, veteran deputies leaving, unwarranted layoffs during the budget cut times and I just really felt like, we need a change," says Letras.
Letras claims Christianson has bullied and intimidated sheriff's employees and failed to provide a competitive salary package.
Christianson has received the endorsement of the Stanislaus Sworn Deputies Association and the California Peace Officers Association.
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