Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department veteran Sandra Hutchens was named Orange County Sheriff on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
The county Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to appoint Hutchens as sheriff, taking the spot of Mike Carona, who stepped down in January to fight federal corruption charges.
The board opted for Hutchens over Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters, who ran against Carona in 1998.
Hutchens pledged to clean up the county jails and do an audit of the department within her first four months in office.
She takes over a department that’s been hit by scandals under Carona and more recently by reports of mismanagement at county jails.
The department also has seen its pension benefits come under attack by Supervisor John Moorlach and others.
Hutchens will have to win over rank-and-file deputies, who largely backed former deputy Bill Hunt, who was in the running to replace Carona.
Hutchens is set to serve the remaining 2.5 years of Carona’s term and could run for a four-year term in 2010 in which she’s likely to face off with Hunt and others.
