Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca will not be opposed in his bid to win election to a fourth term, a department spokesman said Friday.

As of the 5 p.m. Friday filing deadline for the June 8 primary, no one other than Baca had completed the necessary paperwork to participate in the election, said Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore.

Baca last ran for -- and won -- a third term in 2006, defeating two Sheriff's Department employees.

The apparent de facto victory comes as Baca announced that he is cutting $128 million from his budget over the next 16 months, through reductions in overtime and drastically reducing the number of inmates at the north facility of the Pitchess detention center in Castaic.

As result, the department is releasing hundreds of nonviolent offenders from the county's jail system. It was unclear how long the releases would continue, but the sheriff said inmates incarcerated for crimes including check-kiting, petty theft and drunk driving will serve only 50% of their time compared to 80% before the cuts.

In addition, the department is forcing supervisors to go out into the field to cover the shifts of officers who are taking days off. Whitmore said Baca would be among those pitching in. His first patrol will be from 2 to 10 p.m. March 19 in East Los Angeles.