Update June 8, 2022:  With 21.5% of the vote counted, Undersheriff Martinez now has 38.09%, followed by Hemmerling with 20.42% and Myers with 17.85%. The top two will run off in November.

By Miriam Raftery

June 7, 2022 (San Diego) – Early results after polls closed tonight show Undersheriff Kelly Martinez with a strong lead in the race to become San Diego County’s next Sheriff. Martinez has 39.5% in a field of seven contenders. The top two will run off in November. Currently retired prosecutor, police officer and ex- Marine John Hemmerling has 19.9%, trailed closely by retired Sheriff Commander Dave Myers at 17.8%..

Martinez, a Democrat, has the endorsement of former Sheriff Bill Gore and the San Diego Gun Owners Association. Myers is endorsed by the Democratic Party, while Hemmerling is the Republican Party’s endorsed candidate.

By Miriam Raftery

April 17, 2022 (San Diego) -- East County Magazine interviewed Dave Myers, a retired San Diego Sheriff Commander running for Sheriff to fill the seat left by the retirement of long-time Sheriff Bill Gore.  He says it’s time for a new Sheriff in town to change the culture of law enforcement to one that respects everyone while assuring safe communities and rebuilding trust between residents and law enforcement.

He's served in law enforcement for 35 years, won awards for exceptional service and lifesaving, volunteered in nonprofits and community groups, and led efforts to form the Sheriff’s Youth Advisory Group.

Watch video by clicking the video link. Hear audio aired on KNSJ radio at the audio link. Scroll down to read highlights from the interview conducted in late March.

By Miriam Raftery and Paul Kruze

Photos, left and right, by Ryan Michael Darsey

Updated June 13, 2020 with additional quotes and photos.

June 8, 2020 (Santee) – Thousands of protesters held two peaceful marches and rallies Sunday in Santee to call for an end to racism and police violence.  The first kicked off near West Hills Park and proceeded to Santee Lakes. The second convened at the YMCA and marched to the Santee Sheriff’s station on Cuyamaca Street.

The first was organized by Santee residents Tasha Cassidy and Alana Ethridge, who told Patch.com that they wanted to promote “unity and diversity” to overcome “a stigma of Santee being racist.”

Far more marchers convened at the second march which began at the YMCA and ended outside the Sheriff’s station at Cuyamaca Street and Mission Gorge. Deputies stood guard, allowing marchers to proceed saetly down the nomrally busy street throught the shopping district. Many carried placards eading "Black Lives Matter," "I Can't Breathe" and other slogans.

At the Sheriff's station, speakers included 83-year-old Richard Lawrence, who marched in Selma, Alabama in 1965 with  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  Dave Myers, Bill Baber, Akilah Weber and Guy McWhirter

September 29, 2018 (La Mesa) – La Mesa Councilmembers Bill Baber and Guy McWhirter are running on their records. Their challengers, retired Sheriff’s commander Dave Myers and physician Akilah Weber, are running on the slogan “Elect a cop and a doc.” East County Magazine sat down with all four candidates on our radio show, originally aired on KNSJ. 

Key issues in La Mesa include affordable housing and development vs. community character, downtown revitalization, crime and public safety, public health,  marijuana regulations, the city’s climate action plan, and a potential new library.

You can click the audio links at the bottom of this story to hear each interview, and scroll down for highlights. Candidates are listed in the order that they scheduled their interviews.

 By Miriam Raftery

Jonathan Goetz contributed to this report.

 June 6, 2018 (San Diego) – District Attorney Summer Stephans and Sheriff Bill Gore looks likely to win reelection. 

With 15.3% of votes counted, she has over two-thirds of the votes at 64.53%.  Challenger Genevieve Jones-Wright, a progressive Democrat, has only 35.32% of the vote.

Sheriff Gore has 57.2% of the vote vs. Dave Myers, a Democratic Challenger from within Gore's own department, who has 42.6%. 

 June 25, 2017 (San Diego's East County)-- Our April 2017 radio shows are now online. For links to listen to the shows plus a full list of topics an interviews, click here, or click "read more" and scroll down. (Sound files may take a few moments to load).

Our newsmaker interviews included Dave Myers, who is running for Sheriff, 50^th Congressional district candidates Pete Beauregard and Gloria Chadwick, and former homeless veteran John Ford, who now runs a pool safety company. We also covered top local, state and national news, from Earth Day activities to Women’s History Month to the border wall and immigration reforms.

 The East County Magazine Show airs Mondays and Fridays from 5 to 6 p.m. on KNSJ, 89.1 FM.  Our shows rerun on Tuesdays at 9 a.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.  Read more and listen to our April shows: