Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, one of the top Republican candidates running for California governor, met a woman sprawled on the sidewalk as he walked around Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
“I’m waiting for the sun to come out from the clouds. I’m sunbathing,” the woman said Tuesday morning, lying on her jacket on the cold concrete, denying that any drug use was taking place in the roughly 50-block swath of downtown Los Angeles. “This is what we do here in California.”
Bianco and Kate Monroe, chief executive of VetComm, talks with a woman on the sidewalk as they walk around of Skid Row.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Bianco shook his head, and as he walked away said there was zero chance the woman was not high on methamphetamines or something else. He said it was immoral for the state’s leaders to allow people to live in such conditions, and pledged to clean up Skid Row within four years if he is elected governor in November.
“Why on God’s green earth, why would we allow this to happen?” Bianco later said. “And why would you have something that you call Skid Row, that you just accept, instead of doing something to fix … these people’s lives.”
Bianco squarely blamed the problem on waste, fraud and mismanagement under Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and prior elected leaders, who he argued failed to effectively tackle the issue. He is among the critics who points to a 2024 state audit that found the state had spent $24 billion to combat homelessness over the prior five years without tracking the results.
A spokesman for Newsom disputed such characterizations of the spending.
“There is no ‘lost’ $24 billion for homelessness. All the money is accounted for,” Newsom spokesman Izzy Gardon said. “What the report found was that not all state programs required locals to report, at the time, how those dollars improved homelessness outcomes. Gov. Newsom has since changed the law to fix this longstanding issue.”
Bianco also pledged to use existing laws against drug dealing, human trafficking, prostitution and other crimes to clean up these blocks, while offering addicts and the mentally ill who are breaking the law the option of going to jail or being placed in treatment programs.
Democrats shot back that Bianco was not offering realistic approaches to an intractable problem.
Bianco talks with Antonio Fuller, left, and John Shepar.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
“Chad Bianco is the best example of an all-hat, no-cattle politician with tough talk and no solutions,” state Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks said. “That is not what California voters want in our next governor.”
Throughout his campaign, Bianco has leaned into his role as a law enforcement leader. On Tuesday, as his allies shot video after his visit to Skid Row, he pulled up the edge of his T-shirt to reveal his Riverside County sheriff badge.
Amid scenes of desperation, chaos and squalor, Bianco was surrounded by a gaggle of invited media.
Los Angeles Police Department patrol cars were frequently seen nearby as the group sidestepped feces, used condoms, sidewalk fires, open-air drug use and drug dealing, barely clothed women, and people screaming and cursing.
People make their way around Skid Row on Tuesday.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Monroe talks with Emilio Marroquin.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
Bianco was accompanied by veteran and homeless advocate Kate Monroe, who handed the homeless envelopes containing $5 bills and cigarettes as encouragement to talk. Some did not take kindly to the offer.
“Get out of my face. Get out of my face. You’re offering me cigarettes,” the woman said. Monroe replied, ‘I’ll give you five bucks.” The woman repeated, “Get out of my face.”
But others were more receptive, including Emilio Marroquin.
The 42-year-old said he had started drinking as a teenager as he struggled with being gay in a Christian home. He didn’t come out until his father, a pastor, passed away. His drinking spiraled out of control, he said, leading friends and family to abandon him. After Marroquin ended up on the streets eight years ago, he said, he started using crystal meth and crack, and explained the splotchy wounds on his hand were the result of being beaten up for failing to pay drug debts.
After learning that Marroquin briefly lived in sober housing, Bianco asked him about the difficulties of transitioning from living on the streets to structured housing, and then spoke with a passing community service provider who identified herself as S.R.
“We need a new change. We need something other than what we’ve been hearing for the past, I don’t know, 20 years or longer,” she said, to which Bianco replied that she had “more courage, passion and commitment and a big heart than probably anyone to be able to come down here and do this over.”
Bianco greets a man who goes by Cigaretteman.
(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)
The Riverside County sheriff’s appearance on Skid Row comes as the 2026 governor’s race is finally starting to see some energy.
A crowded field of prominent though little-known Democrats is competing to finish in the top two spots in the June primary. If they all remain in the race, the Democrats could splinter the vote and allow one of the far smaller number of top Republican candidates to win one of the spots.
Saying that Newsom has turned the state into “Califraudia,” Hilton and GOP controller candidate Herb Morgan called on the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal officials to investigate waste and fraud in state spending.
“This gets to that question that every Californian is asking: How is it that we have the highest taxes in the country? They’ve doubled the budget of the state of California nearly in the last five years, and everything is worse,” Hilton said. “We have the worst outcomes in America. How is that possible, that they spend so much and we get so little? … We are going to get to the bottom of this when we are elected.”
The drama has landed on Netflix and is currently on the streaming giant’s Top 10 chart.
The actor is best known for starring in Downton Abbey(Image: ITV)
A recent drama featuring one of Downton Abbey‘s most familiar faces has made its way to Netflix, and it’s certainly stirred up mixed feelings.
The suspenseful thriller, Captivated, also known as Too Good To Be True, hails from 2024 and currently holds a middling 5.6/10 rating on IMDb.
The plot centres around Rachel, a single mum and cleaner, who is offered an improved job by a wealthy businessman. However, as she becomes more entangled in his affairs, her suspicions about his intentions grow.
Despite its initial airing on Channel 5 last year, the series has gained renewed interest after being added to Netflix UK, where it now ranks third on the streaming behemoth’s Top 10 chart.
While some viewers have clearly enjoyed the show, others have taken to IMDb to caution potential watchers “not to waste their time” on the thriller, reports the Express.
“An utter waste of time,” ane disgruntled viewer lamented, adding: “Just finished this series, of which all 4 episodes can be seen on My5. It gets steadily worse with each episode with a paper thin and entirely predictable plot.”
Another echoed the sentiment, advising: “Don’t waste your time like I did. I kept thinking it would get better. It absolutely does not.”
A third chimed in with their critique, branding it “predictable and unconvincing,” and describing it as “a disappointing crime miniseries”.
Another viewer chimed in: “As usual with this type of drama, this started off OK and went downhill rapidly. It is very predictable and some of it makes no sense at all.”
Get Netflix free with Sky
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Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan.
This lets members watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes hit shows like Stranger Things and The Last of Us.
Yet not everyone shared such a dim view, with some fans finding merit in the programme, one describing it as “strangely entertaining”.
“I’ve read some scathing reviews about this show, and whilst I don’t think it’s great, I still think it’s watchable,” reasoned another viewer.
A third defended it as “not as bad as ratings suggest”, adding: “This is a little predictable but is easy to watch and does have a storyline.”
Another supporter urged: “Despite the low rating and some negative reviews it’s surprisingly good. So don’t be fooled.”
One enthusiastic fan encouraged patience: “The first episode was good just persevere with it as the series does get better. It’s little predictable but a good watch ! Too Good To Be true is intense and thrilling to watch!!”
Those curious to form their own opinion can stream Captivated on Netflix and Channel 5 in the UK, or BritBox in the US.
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