Countywide : Woman Deputy to Run for Gates’ Position
Linda Lea Calligan, the only female patrol sergeant in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, will run against her boss, Sheriff Brad Gates, in the June election.
Calligan, 38, who says she wants to be the first woman in the state to be elected sheriff, will officially announce her candidacy on Friday. A 15-year veteran of the department, Calligan has worked as a deputy and sergeant in both the patrol and jail divisions.
She said she enjoys wide support in the law enforcement and criminal justice communities, and expects to expand on that support, “given the seriously tarnished records of the other two candidates, Bradley Gates and Bobby Youngblood.” Youngblood is an Orange County Municipal Court judge on leave to campaign for sheriff.
Calligan, her husband, Michael, a retired Orange County sheriff’s deputy, and their two children, Wendy and Sean, live in Mission Viejo.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
