Who will be Placer County’s next top cop? Two veterans compete for sheriff in open election

Placer County is in for its first contested sheriff’s race in a generation.

The two contenders, Wayne Woo and Brandon Bean, are veterans of the sheriff’s office and while they share many of the same values, each proposes bringing a slightly different vision to the county’s leading law enforcement agency.

Bean, a sergeant for the sheriff’s office, entered the race weeks after Sheriff Devon Bell announced his retirement and his support for his undersheriff, Woo. A 22-year veteran of law enforcement, Bean posits himself as the grass roots “choice of law enforcement,” and says he’ll put the rank and file deputies first should he win.

Woo has served with the Placer County Sheriff’s Office for over 30 years and rose through the ranks, serving the last five years as undersheriff. He plans to continue the legacy of his predecessors, he said, and uphold Placer County’s quality of life and low crime environment.

The race promises to be contentious.

Running for rank-and-file officers

Bean is a new face on the political stage. A lifelong Placer County resident, he is best known for his relation to Bill Bean Jr., the Sacramento Police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1999.

His brother’s death spurred him to pursue a career in law enforcement, he said in an interview. Wearing a black cowboy hat and thin blue line ring on his left ring finger, Bean spoke at length about his commitment to the rank and file deputies and his desire to elevate their voices within the sheriff’s office.

“When Ed Bonner retired, morale downturned,” he said, referring to the county sheriff who retired in 2017 “The administration separated itself from the people doing the job and you started feeling like a number, which makes it easy to walk away to a better paying job. We lost the sense of family in the department.”

Bean said his goal as sheriff would be to make the rank and file deputies feel more valued by listening to and implementing their ideas on important issues like homelessness and rising crime. He also wants to support the mental health of deputies by investing in more resources.

Bean said he didn’t make the decision to run for sheriff lightly. He said he prayed with his wife, Billie, for days and felt like “God was hitting me with a 4x4.”

“I had to do this,” he said.

Bean said he wants to lead the department toward more community-involved policing, meaning he wants to get into the community more, talking to residents and building relationships. He said he views the position as a “vessel” for the voices of deputies and constituents.

“All the men and women who do this job and are first line protectors, including the firefighters, have endorsed me,” Bean said. “I hope the public understands that that means a lot more than political endorsements.”

Experience from Roseville to Lake Tahoe

Woo, a member of the Placer County Sheriff’s Office since 1994, brings experience from all ranks to the sheriff’s race and promises to uphold the legacies of his predecessors if elected.

He began his law enforcement career at 20, serving on Placer County’s patrol unit. He has since served on its Special Investigations Unit, undercover narcotics unit, and its SWAT team.

“I’ve had the most wonderful career that anyone could ask for,” he said.

He’s now responsible for the operations of the Sheriff’s Office, which oversees over 600 employees and stretches from urban Roseville to rural Lake Tahoe.

“It’s a very diverse geography and constituency,” he said. “It’s a busy job but very enjoyable.”

Woo, 51, is eligible to retire after his 32 years of service, but said he’s not ready for retirement and wants to ensure Placer remains a great place to live and raise a family. His decision to run was largely influenced by his three children who moved back to Placer County during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to raise their children here.

“I raised my children in this community and now my grandchildren are here, and I wasn’t ready to retire and had the experience to carry on the continuity of the leadership of Ed Bonner and Devon Bell,” he said.

It’s a legacy Woo said he is proud to have contributed, and said he has no plans to significantly change.

“I’m asked what are you going to change and that is a weird question to me because that’s not why I’m running, he said. “I’m staying to see those things through.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 5:25 AM.