Sheriff Chad Bianco, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond debate on CA issues

LOS ANGELES - Since Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco posted a now viral video of himself, in uniform, endorsing Donald Trump for president, California State Superintendent Tony Thurmond called for an investigation into the conservative sheriff and challenged him to a debate. 

The two men finally got the chance to debate live on FOX 11, where they discussed some of the biggest issues facing Californians, including crime, public safety, and education. 

Below is a breakdown of some of the topics they discussed. 

Viral video endorsing Trump 

In early June, Bianco posted a video on social media saying he was "changing teams" ahead of the 2024 election and urged people to support a "convicted felon"… referring to Donald Trump who was convicted the week before on 34 felony counts. Just days after the video was posted, Thurmond called Bianco's actions "illegal," and called for an investigation into the post. Specifically, Thurmond called out Bianco for endorsing a political candidate while "wearing a taxpayer-funded uniform." Biano was wearing his Sheriff's uniform in the video.

During Wednesday's debate, Thurmond said he was concerned that Bianco would advocate for someone who "tried to overthrow our government and in doing so, caused the harm of many people, including police officers," Thurmond explained. 

Bianco responded by saying his actions were not illegal.

"We have the person in charge of education in our state that failed to educate himself. Do his homework about whether or not it was true or not that I violated some law. And then he went on local news saying that I did, and repeatedly on social media saying that I have violated these laws. So the truth of the matter is, I did not. I have spoken to numerous investigators over the last five years because there's always people that don't know the law, and they complain, and they file complaints. I have spoken to local investigators and federal investigators, and regardless of what he thinks, the sheriff does not apply to that law or that rule. And I'm exempt because I'm an elected official and specifically the office of sheriff does not apply to that. A chief of police would, one of my employees would. I am not considered an officer or an employee of the sheriff's department… I am the elected sheriff of Riverside County," Bianco answered. 

He also claimed Thurmond made his statement to get "fame for his governor run." In September, Thurmond announced he was running for Governor in 2026.

Thurmond responded by saying, "When the sheriff doubled down as an elected official to say that it's his badge, his uniform, he can do with it what he wants. I think it's disrespectful to the people who elect us. You know, there are rules. It's not about whether or not you're elected, or you're a rank and file officer. There are clearly established rules that say that public officials, elected officials don't engage in politics when we are on the clock, when we are working."

As for the investigation, Thurmond simply said "some are looking into it."

Reforming Prop 47

On the November ballot, there is a measure, Prop. 36, which would amend Prop. 47 which was approved by California voters in 2014. Prop. 47 reclassified certain non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.

Bianco called Prop. 47 "the beginning of the end for public safety in California." 

"We know now that we were 100% lied to by our state government, specifically our attorney general, who happens to be the person he's endorsing for president now, and we were sold a bill of goods with the Safe Streets and Safe Schools Initiative, which we know now had nothing to do with safe streets and safe schools. It was about decriminalization. It was about no accountability for criminal behavior, raising the limits of theft, no accountability for drugs," Bianco exclaimed. 

Thurmond, who comes from a law enforcement family, said people are tired of crime and offenders need accountability. 

 "There has to be reform. We're taking a look at Prop. 36, I'm working with a lot of legislators right now as we speak to create real consequences for those who commit retail theft, go after those rings who are helping to steal the stuff and sell it again on eBay and other places. We need change, but just locking people up is not the solution. We need intervention programs and as governor I would start a campaign immediately to put 2,000 more officers on the streets of California to help keep our communities safe and to build intervention programs," Thurmond said. 

Bianco then responded by saying Thurmond repeatedly voted for soft-on-crime policies and gave more rights and benefits to criminals. Thurmond disagreed with his statement and said he has led programs that reduced violent crime. 

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Education 

Earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1955, a controversial bill that prohibits California school districts from notifying parents about a student's desire to change sexual orientation or gender identity. Proponents say the law protects LGBTQ+ students while opponents, who have already filed a lawsuit challenging the law, say it violates the rights of parents.

Thurmond, who worked on AB 1955, said the bill doesn't violate parents' rights, but reaffirms the rights that parents and their families have. 

"All this bill says is, is that when it comes to someone's sexual orientation, that's a personal matter that should be worked out between them and their families," Thurmond explained. 

"Actually what it does is it protects young people from being forcibly outed. And research shows that when you target LGBTQ+ students in this way, you propel them towards suicide. Forty percent of LGBTQ+ kids are experiencing or considering suicide," Thurmond added. 

However, Bianco doesn't agree and called the bill "absolutely horrible." 

"It certainly takes away the rights of teachers to inform parents," Bianco said. "And what it does is it prevents school districts from having their own rules and laws of saying that teachers will notify parents or that you, a teacher, can notify a parent. This took away that ability for schools to do that. This is an end around ridiculous law."

Both men agreered that the government shouldn't be involved in a family's life or decision. However, Bianco said if Thurmond believes that, then he shouldn't have passed AB 1955. 

Run for governor 

While the race for governor isn't until 2026, Thurmond and several other democrats have already joined the race. In addition to Thurmond they include, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, state Sen. Toni Atkins, former Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Bianco has hinted at a possible run, but made no official announcement. Meanwhile, Leo Zacky, vice president of Zacky Farms, and former judge Jimmy Parker have declared their candidacies.