Until June, the rap on appointed Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was that her lack of political savvy and boneheaded policies on concealed weapons would block her from winning voter approval as the replacement for convicted felon Mike Carona. But during an often verbally heated campaign against challengers Bill Hunt and Craig Hunter, Hutchens remained herself: calm (if bland) and prone to understatement and self-deprecation. She didn't even have the backing of the local Republican Party. Nonetheless, she trounced her rivals. Apparently, the key for voters was that Hutchens is not a sniveling, egomaniacal, two-faced crook like her predecessor.