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Lopinto faces two opponents in the March 24, 2018, special election. One, Republican John Fortunato, with forty-six years experience in law enforcement, was for years the spokesman for Normand's predecessor, Harry Lee, a Democrat of [[China|Chinese]] descent who rarely drew serious opposition for the position. Anthony Bloise, a septuagenarian former submarine builder without law enforcement experience, is also running in the special election. Bloise polled 12 percent of the vote in the 2015 contest against Normand. The winner of the office will serve until July 2020; he must run again in the 2019 regular state elections to gain a full term as sheriff.<ref name=sheriffsrace/>
Lopinto faces two opponents in the March 24, 2018, special election. One, Republican John Fortunato, with forty-six years experience in law enforcement, was for years the spokesman for Normand's predecessor, Harry Lee, a Democrat of [[China|Chinese]] descent who rarely drew serious opposition for the position. Anthony Bloise, a septuagenarian former submarine builder without law enforcement experience, is also running in the special election. Bloise polled 12 percent of the vote in the 2015 contest against Normand. The winner of the office will serve until July 2020; he must run again in the 2019 regular state elections to gain a full term as sheriff.<ref name=sheriffsrace/>
Questions arose in the campaign regarding three unnamed Lopinto deputies who allegedly eavesdropped and obtained surveillance footage at a Jefferson Parish coffee house in the fall of 2017 to gain information on opponent Fortunato, who was meeting with two other men who once were employed by the sheriff's office. Lopinto said that the three deputies acted without his consent and would be "counseled." ''The Baton Rouge Advocate'' called upon Lopinto to release quickly the results of his department investigation into the matter: "Whether or not they flashed their badges, the deputies' employment as officers shouldn't include moonlighting as political snoops. That can only serve to confuse the difference between police power and the public good."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/opinion/our_views/article_16e41a1c-f658-11e7-b03b-dbb184330df2.html|title=Our Views: Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto should release investigation results immediately|publisher=''The Baton Rouge Advocate''|date=January 17, 2018|accessdate=January 17, 2018}}</ref>
==References==
==References==