Sen. Richard Roth has conceded the election for Riverside County supervisor to former Assemblyman Jose Medina. “Although there are votes that remain to be counted, it is clear that we did not prevail in the race for Riverside County Supervisor,” Roth announced on social media. “In this great American democracy, which we so cherish and revere, the people have the final say, and I respect and accept their decision to elect Jose Medina as our next County Supervisor. I congratulate Supervisor-elect Medina on a hard-fought victory; and, no matter who you voted for in this race, I hope you will join me in wishing Supervisor-elect Medina success – because Riverside County’s success depends on it.” Medina’s victory is worthy of celebration, for it means that, finally, someone on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will have the courage to stand up to the reckless Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and the Riverside Sheriffs Association. “I have always believed law enforcement has an honorable duty to serve and protect,” Medina wrote in an op-ed in The Press-Enterprise in January. “That duty also comes with a responsibility to adhere to the highest standards of ethics and integrity. Recent actions by the scandal-plagued Riverside County Sheriff’s Department violate that duty and weaken our community’s trust. I am running for Riverside County Supervisor to restore that trust and deliver quality services for hardworking families.” Related Articles Editorials | Democrats suddenly drop the ‘Hitler’ act Editorials | Good riddance to Kevin de Leon Editorials | Donald Trump should go ‘Milei’ on the federal government Editorials | Violent attacks on Jews in Amsterdam should horrify the civilized world Editorials | Newsom shrugs as CARB boosts gasoline prices We endorsed Medina in January for precisely that reason. “Medina is clear on what he wants to do,” we wrote. “He wants to see the coroner’s office split from the sheriff. He wants to see an oversight body put in place and an inspector general installed to see to it that things are going as they should. Roth, by contrast, is beholden to the same deputies union that recruited Bianco to run for sheriff in the first place.” RSA spent heavily in the closing weeks of the election to try to get Roth elected. Riverside County voters rightly rejected this effort, dealing a heavy blow to the union, which wields disproportionate political power in the county. Roth deserves credit for some of the good he did for the region in the California Senate, but the fact that he chose to cozy up with RSA and Bianco spoke volumes. As Medina understands well, Sheriff Bianco has run the sheriff’s department into the ground. Bianco has overseen a broken jail system that has allowed far too many people to die. Bianco has overseen a sheriff’s department that uses far too much force, too often. And Bianco has essentially become a walking liability for Riverside County taxpayers. Public safety suffers as a result. We celebrate the election of Medina. We hope he can persuade some of his soon-to-be-colleagues to develop a backbone for a change and provide some actual oversight before Bianco digs an even deeper hole for the county.