Undersheriff Kelly Martinez announces plans to run for sheriff

Undersheriff Kelly Martinez has announced plans to run for San Diego County sheriff, seeking to replace Sheriff Bill Gore, who last week said he would not be seeking another term.

Martinez, 58, has worked for the Sheriff’s Department for 36 years and in February was named the department’s undersheriff, becoming second in command in the agency. She is the first woman to hold that post.

“Public safety is my highest priority,” she said in a statement. “As Sheriff, San Diego County residents can trust that I will put the safety of our communities first. I will ensure fair policing for all.”

Martinez filed papers stating she intended to run with the county Registrar of Voters on July 27, two days before Gore announced he would not seek re-election. The primary election is in June.

This is the first time she has run for public office.

Her campaign website includes endorsements from Gore, who is a registered Republican, and many prominent Democratic political leaders, including three county supervisors — Nathan Fletcher, Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer — San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Rep. Juan Vargas. The sheriff’s race is non-partisan.

Martinez said in a statement that she does not plan to seek or accept any contributions from employees of the Sheriff’s Department.

In an interview, she said people have been talking to her about running for sheriff the past two or three years, but it wasn’t until early this year that she began to consider it seriously.

Since she began her career in 1985, Martinez has held every rank in the department and worked all around the region. She said she knew Gore was not going to run again and she felt she was not done with her career.

“It makes sense for me to be the one to lead our organization,” she said.

In her current role, Martinez said she has pushed the Sheriff’s Department to work closer with community groups on issues such as homelessness.

She said she gave the directive to notify the public of in-custody deaths within 24 hours and proposed adding another commander to assist the three existing commanders in providing oversight and supervision in the jails.

She said she’s concerned about drugs in society and in the jails and pushed to publicize every overdose that occurs in the county’s jails, not just those that result in death.

“I think it is important the public understand how big the problem is and how hard our staff is working,” she said.

Medical care and inmate safety in the county jails have come under scrutiny in recent years. In 2019, the Union-Tribune published “Dying Behind Bars,” an in-depth, six-month investigation that found the mortality rate in San Diego jails was the highest among large counties in the state.

Martinez’s early years were lived in southeastern San Diego. As one of six kids she moved with her family to Poway when she was 8 and grew up there. Her father had served in the Navy and then joined the San Diego Police Department in 1972.

Martinez is the only one of her siblings to follow their father into law enforcement. Martinez said she chose the profession while working as a waitress — and after being encouraged by some of her father’s friends. She calls it the best decision she ever made.

She’s a graduate of Mt, Carmel High School in the Poway Unified School District and is close to finishing a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration through National University. She recently completed POST Command College, a program for law enforcement leaders.

Married and the mother of a 30-year-old son, Martinez and her husband live downtown most of the time and have a home in Fallbrook.

Gore’s opponent in the last election, now-retired Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dave Myers has said he was not surprised by Gore’s decision to not run, which he said “comes at a time when there is a significant trust gap between Department leadership and the public.” He issued a statement saying he welcomed Martinez into the race.

“It’s time to clean house in Sheriff’s Department leadership and build a leadership team that is competent, reflects the entire population of our region, and serves residents with competence and professionalism,” he said.

Myers, who drew less than 44 percent of the vote to Gore’s 56 percent, said he intends to announce his candidacy for the job in coming weeks.