Five months after indicted Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona resigned to prepare for his corruption trial, the county's board of supervisors (BOS) today narrowed the prospective replacement list from nine candidates to just two: Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters and ex-Los Angeles County Sheriff's Chief Sandra Hutchens.
Acting Sheriff Jack Anderson will turn over California's second largest police department to Walters or Hutchens in mid-June after the BOS considers background checks and then make a final vote.
The winner will hold the county's most powerful elective office until at least the 2010 election.