El Dorado County Sheriff Jeff Leikauf plans to retire at the end of 2026, closing out a 36-year career in county law enforcement. He has already filed paperwork to continue serving as a reserve deputy, and he's recommending that Undersheriff Eric Palmberg step into the top job once he's gone.
Leikauf announced his plans in an interview with the Mountain Democrat, telling the paper, “I've got 36 years in the business. I've had an absolutely fantastic career.” He added that he's already filed the paperwork needed to stick around El Dorado County in a reserve capacity even after stepping down from the elected post, as reported by the Sacramento Bee.
The timing isn't incidental. Leikauf cited a change in state election law — one that extended sheriffs' terms from four years to six — as a factor in his decision, since it pushed his current term's expiration out to 2028. Rather than serve out those extra years, he's opting to step aside at the end of 2026, with the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors slated to discuss succession at its meeting on Oct. 20.
Leikauf's Pick for Successor
Leikauf plans to recommend Undersheriff Eric Palmberg for the role, the Mountain Democrat reports. Palmberg was promoted to undersheriff less than a month before a Village Life profile described his background, replacing now-retired Undersheriff Bryan Golmitz, according to Village Life.
Palmberg's career inside the sheriff's office has touched nearly every corner of the department. He began in patrol, served as a field training officer, and later worked as a narcotics detective, per the same account, with additional stints in the Coroner's Office, public information, jail administration and support services. He also spent more than a decade on the sheriff's office SWAT team, Village Life notes.
Whether the Board of Supervisors ultimately selects Palmberg or another candidate hasn't been determined; the Oct. 20 meeting is where that conversation begins, not where it necessarily ends.
A Predecessor's Pointed Criticism
Leikauf's announcement follows public criticism from his predecessor, former Sheriff John D'Agostini, who has called for Leikauf's resignation in local newspapers and on social media, according to the Sacramento Bee. D'Agostini has accused Leikauf of shifting priorities away from serving the office and the community toward his own individual priorities, and said Leikauf had failed him, the agency and the communities it serves.
Leikauf, for his part, told the Sacramento Bee he was disappointed by D'Agostini's comments and described the allegations as ridiculous claims. He said D'Agostini is not running him out of office and that he is not running from anything, framing his retirement as a career decision rather than a response to the criticism.
The relationship between the two men wasn't always adversarial. D'Agostini served as El Dorado County sheriff for 12 years before retiring in January 2023, according to a report from inedc.com. Years earlier, as his own three-term tenure wound down, D'Agostini had backed Leikauf, then a sheriff's lieutenant, as his chosen replacement, according to the Tahoe Daily Tribune. D'Agostini has since said he endorsed Leikauf and helped his campaign path to office, per inedc.com's report, and Leikauf ran unopposed in 2022.
D'Agostini Eyes a 2028 Return
Now D'Agostini says he intends to run for the Office of Sheriff in the next election, in 2028 — the same year Leikauf's current term would have expired under the extended six-year term structure. The next sheriff election is scheduled for March 7, 2028, per inedc.com's report on the relevant state election-law change.
Leikauf has said he wants to avoid controversy so the men and women of the department can focus on their jobs, a sentiment he offered to the Mountain Democrat as he navigates the final stretch of his tenure alongside his predecessor's public criticism.
Not everyone in county government has weighed in critically. El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, who has served in that office for 19 years, congratulated Leikauf on his retirement announcement, praising the sheriff's department as a talented and well-run organization. Pierson said 36 years is a long time and wished Leikauf the best, according to the Sacramento Bee's report.
