A new political ad for Kamala Harris has ignited a controversy for featuring a Californian sheriff without his consent. Sheriff Mike Boudreaux of Tulare County isn’t pleased, expressing that his image was used without his permission and he vehemently denies endorsing Harris for President or any other political office.
Sheriff Boudreaux has dedicated 37 years to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office and currently heads the California State Sheriffs’ Association. He vividly remembers a visit Harris made to the Central Valley in 2013 which is now being used in the ad, featuring Boudreaux and other local and state law enforcement officials.
The controversy expands beyond the ad’s use of Boudreaux’s image. The advertisement posits that Harris, as a ‘border state prosecutor,’ has a long history of combating violent crime. Sheriff Boudreaux disputes this claim, noting that Harris highlighted an extensive investigation into a multinational drug operation linked to Mexican cartels and prison gangs during a 2014 visit, but did nothing to suppress illegal border crossings.
Boudreaux further criticizes Harris for taking undue credit for a specific case that resulted in the arrest of 11 individuals, including the alleged “kingpin” Jose Magana. He characterizes her visit as nothing more than a “smoke and mirrors” act, painting her as detached from the officers present.
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, who also appears in the ad, shares Boudreaux’s sentiments. He criticizes what he views as Harris’s inconsistency, promoting her reputation as a prosecutor despite, as he describes, her tenure as attorney general during three of California’s most horrific tragedies.
Golden State Justice, Boudreaux’s political action committee, also condemned Harris, accusing her of obstructing Californian law enforcement’s efforts to halt the escalation of crime across the border. According to them, Harris’s actions are a “sad attempt” to portray herself as a staunch advocate for border security.
The ad asserts that Harris plans to “hire thousands more border agents and crack down on fentanyl and human trafficking.” However, Boudreaux contests this, arguing that Harris lacked a strong stance on border security when it was most crucial, leading to job losses from Justice Department layoffs.
Ward concurs with Boudreaux’s view, stating that a simple professional courtesy notifying them of the use of their images in the campaign would have sufficed. Both men declare they don’t want their appearances in the ad to be misconstrued as an endorsement for Harris.
