County of Santa Clara

The Novato native worked for police departments in Los Angeles, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto before becoming Santa Clara County’s newly elected sheriff in 2022. Sheriff Jonsen cited mental health response, department transparency and budget balancing as his top priorities when running for the elected position in 2022. He beat former sheriff Captain Kevin Jensen in a tight race, gaining 50.7% of the vote. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to appoint Jonsen as sheriff in December, a month before officially taking office in January, after predecessor Laurie Smith abruptly resigned. 

First elected: Nov. 8, 2022

Twitter bio: Sheriff Elect of Santa Clara County / Chief of Police (Ret) / CCT Certified Teacher / UCLA MARC trained Mindfulness Facilitator

Other offices held: Chief of Police, Palo Alto (2018-2022); Chief of Police, Menlo Park (2013-2018).

Notable quote: "I really want to engage with the workforce, understand what we need to do. And that's something I've always done as well—is really meeting the personnel, talking with them, hearing what they're expecting, and also sharing my expectations” (Source: ABC7)