New LA Sheriff Alex Villanueva fought for this political win for years
LOS ANGELES - Alex Villanueva has long known the feeling of not fitting in.
He ran from bullies as a young boy in New York, before moving to Puerto Rico where he quickly had to learn Spanish. He would walk to school along sugar cane fields there, reading books the whole way.
As a deputy in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, he was ridiculed for writing a report accusing his bosses of discriminating against Latinos.
His outspokenness in an organization built on a strict hierarchy dominated his career and outsider status, with him retiring as a lieutenant earlier this year after being repeatedly denied promotion.
He lost several bids for public office but persisted in seeking out leadership roles.
Now Villanueva, 55, is taking on the kind of executive authority he long railed against, rising six ranks to become Los Angeles County's 33rd sheriff, supported in his long-shot campaign by the rank-and-file deputies' union he once sought to dismantle.
"My career has been killed so many times over I've been like Freddy Krueger," he said. "I keep rising
