[5] Dave Myers announced his run for San Diego County Sheriff in February 2017 against his boss and 9-year-incumbent, Bill Gore.
[7][8][9][10][11] During his run, Myers said the department does not respond well to community issues and criticized Gore's handling of important cases.
[12][13] Myers stated there is a lack of diversity in the force, and believes there needs to be more LGBT, women and minorities serving in the San Diego Sheriff's Department.
[18] Gore stated he was unable to debate Myers due to laws limiting his ability to talk about employee conduct.
His campaign emphasized concerns over deaths in jails, lack of transparency, and racial inequities in policing that required reform to address.