GOP governor hopeful Sheriff Chad Bianco wows friendly crowd in Bakersfield
And while there's still 17 months to go before California elects a new governor in November 2026, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco seemed happy to be planting his flag for the Sacramento statehouse right here in Bakersfield.
"I will start by saying I'm an unapologetic, God-fearing, freedom-loving, patriotic American," Bianco said to cheers from more than 200 members and guests of Bakersfield Republican Women Federated, which hosted the event Tuesday afternoon at Seven Oaks Country Club.
The Golden State is at a pivotal time in its history, and it's critical, he said, that Republicans take back the governorship.
Bianco grew up in a tiny town in Utah, and came to California in 1989 to achieve what he called "the California Dream," a goal he said he achieved, thanks to his wife and family — and landing the perfect job.
"At the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, I have 4,400 employees, we have 17 contract cities that we contract law enforcement services with," Bianco told the gathering.
"I have six county jails, I have 16 county courthouses. I'm also the public administrator and the county coroner. It's an extremely large operation," he said.
"My operating budget is $1.2 billion."
In introducing Bianco to the Bakersfield audience, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said Bianco is the right person at the right time for California.
"I'm proud to be here today. I didn't have to be here," Youngblood said. "But I think so much of Chad Bianco. I think he would be the greatest governor that we've ever had."
Bianco slammed what he called the liberal agenda, a world of bad choices in the justice system, overregulation and taxation.
"If you ask a 5-year-old or a 90-year-old what is the responsibility of law enforcement, both of them are going to say, 'Arrest bad guys and put 'em in jail,'" he said. "That is what you do.
"You ask anyone in the middle, and you get all political and you don't know what the answer is because you get emotionally involved instead of common sense and reason, and you lose track of what we are supposed to be doing."
When Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not run for reelection, Bianco said he watched as a number of Democrats began lining up for the job.
"California is the most unfriendly business state in the country, and all of the people that are responsible for that are now running for governor," he said.
"There were nine Democrats who had already announced they were running for governor when I decided I was going to run."
Later he asked a question of the partisan audience:
"Are any of you happy with California?"
"No!" came the answer in unison.
Bianco did take a swipe at Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron who spoke to another group of Bakersfield Republicans last week.
"He's not a leader," Bianco said of Hilton.
Bianco also offered a question and answer session, and when he ran out of time he spoke with people individually outside the country club's banquet room.
David Hartley, an independent oil producer in Kern, Tulare and Fresno counties, told Bianco that upon entering office, Newsom vowed to put local independent producers out of business.
"Bianco's rhetoric matches up with his overall strategy on oil and ag," Hartley said. "I would just need to see details."
He would need to see what Bianco actually knows.
"Does he and his team understand what needs to be done," Hartley said, "to turn this ship around?"
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