Norby all but calls for Carona to resign

November 13th, 2007, 4:26 pm · 13 Comments · posted by Martin Wisckol, Politics reporter

Chris Norby, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, has previously stopped just short of calling on Sheriff Mike Carona to resign. But he came even a step closer today.

“Only the Sheriff can lift this cloud by resigning his position and allowing the Board of Supervisors to appoint new leadership,” Norby wrote in an e-newsletter sent out this afternoon. “There are many long-term projects and budget decisions that need the attention of a full-time Sheriff empowered to act and plan for the long-term. Let us hope we get one soon.”

He also takes issue with Jo Ann Galisky being called “acting sheriff.”

Click below to read the complete item from Norby.
– Martin Wisckol

Sheriff: Only One Best Option

The federal criminal indictment against Sheriff Michael Carona has placed a cloud over Orange County’s largest department. Only the Sheriff can lift this cloud by resigning his position and allowing the Board of Supervisors to appoint new leadership. So far he is seeking vindication through the looming trial, but the judicial process may take many months and will, at the very least, reveal serious issues in the department’s leadership.

It is true, as the Sheriff asserts, that his chief accusers are men who are themselves confessed felons. But these are the very men—George Jaramillo and Don Haidl—who the Sheriff installed at the highest levels of leadership and who’s admitted felonious activity happened under the Sheriff’s supervision. This trio is the Sheriff once described as the “Team Forever”.

All elected officials have been subjected to false charges and many to nuisance civil lawsuits. But a federal criminal indictment is quite rare. While all Americans are accorded to presumption of innocence, elected officials have a much higher bar.

The past Board of Supervisors has its share of culpability. On December 15, 1998, at Sheriff Carona’s request, the Board voted to abolish the previous qualifications for Assistant Sheriff, opening the gate for Haidl and Jaramillo. No one on the current Board was part of that action, but we must act now to restore those professional standards.

In his own words, Sheriff Carona has taken a “60 day leave of absence.” In reality, he still holds title to Sheriff, retains his salary and all powers related to the office.

The only way to relinquish them is to resign. As elected officials, we derive our titles and powers from the voters. We can resign permanently but cannot step aside temporarily. We’re either in office, or not.

The Sheriff also designated Joanne Galisky as “Acting Sheriff” (his term) with day-to-day operational responsibilities. Galisky has been with the department 23 years and serves as Under-Sheriff with Carona. But she cannot be “Acting Sheriff”. There is no such title in law. Only the duly elected Sheriff can be Sheriff, until his term expires, he resigns or is recalled.

Should he resign, the Board would appoint a successor, having all the powers of Sheriff. Until then, there is great public confusion as to who is really operating the department. What happens after the 60 day leave of absence? By then, the trial may not even have begun and could last well into next summer.

To address this, the Board of Supervisors considered a ballot measure that would empower us to place an indicted Sheriff (or any other county elected official) on paid administrative leave and appoint an interim department head. That interim would have all powers as Sheriff, D.A., Treasurer, or to whatever post was affected. This would have also applied to Supervisors. It wasn’t perfect but would have assured smooth transfer of authority during a crisis. Critics said it gave the Board too much power to punish politically unpopular officials, but it would only apply to those who had been criminally indicted, which is quite rare.

The measure failed on a 3-2 vote, with Supervisor Moorlach and I supporting it. We both wanted to place this on the February ballot to give the voters some recourse in the current unfortunate situation, and others that might arise. Without such a tool, the Board of Supervisors can do very little other than non-binding resolutions or individual calls for resignation.

My office has been flooded with calls and emails, running 9-1 for us to take action regarding the Sheriff’s Department. Overwhelmingly these are messages of outrage, concern and embarrassment, all of which I share.

The Sheriff’s deputies who patrol our streets, guard the jails and solve crimes will continue to do their duty regardless of top management. But there are many long-term projects and budget decisions that need the attention of a full-time Sheriff empowered to act and plan for the long-term. Let us hope we get one soon.

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rich white guy says:

November 13, 2007 at 6:11 pm

Stop the crazy talk of resignation!

Our Sheriff, Michael Carona, will be speaking real soon to the Full Disclosure Network concerning this Firestorm. The full interview of Sheriff Carona and his Firestorm will be released in a few days, by the Full Disclosure Network to 45 cable systems and the Internet.

Your continued support of OUR SHERIFF, Michael Carona, is greatly appreciated during this recent Firestorm.

Headlights On!

Stop The Crazy Talk!

Post Reply

November 13, 2007 at 6:18 pm

Supervisor Norby knows “grandstanding” when he sees it!

Headlights On! Headlights On! Headlights On!

John says:

November 13, 2007 at 6:48 pm

Corona at best is a moron and his under sheriff only holds a GED. I cant imagine what makes up the rest of the riff raf of this department. On the flip side the people vying for his job appear just as slimy. Chief Paul Walters of Santa Ana had no problem endorsing Corona (even after a brutal election..wonder why) and having his son get a job at OCSD yet now wants people to believe his is a fresh face for the department. Then you have Bill Hunt who was a-ok with Corona as long as he was to be Sheriff later (check the registers reports) but when it was taking to long wanted to run and got whooped. Its time for OUTSIDE OF THE COUNTY leadership, this department has been a joke since LaDuecer and the boys and is even worse now and that needs to change.

Debby Bodkin says:

November 13, 2007 at 8:35 pm

When the OC Board of Supervisors continue to publicly request that OC Sheriff Carona resign, in my opinion, it is a cop out and a bandaid approach to the corruption in Orange County.

The Board of Supes should be thinking about the attorneys’ fees the County of Orange is paying to attorneys and law firms that continue collecting legal fees from the County of Orange, despite multiple legal, financial, political, religious and personal conflicts of interest.

Judicial abuses and legal conflicts of interest have ENABLED corruption in Orange County. If Supervisor Norby wants Sheriff Carona to remove the dark cloud surrounding him, then Norby needs to sit down and ask for resignations of attorneys and law firms who continue to violate separation of Church and State laws, while placing the civil rights of children, adults and employees at serious risk.

Sheriff Carona’s best defense in the federal indictment is the fact that he has surrounded himself with legal and political advisors that are incompetent and create liability to the County, discouraging the public’s participation in matters of interest and public safety.

The OC Board of Supes have had advance warning and ignored multiple citizen reports about the OC Sheriff, the OC District Attorney and attorneys violating multiple laws of the land. Asking Sheriff Carona to resign is not the answer!!!!! CORRECTIVE ACTION across the board of this County is the only solution.

Karen A Finn says:

November 13, 2007 at 10:09 pm

To Friends, Family, News, Radio, Newspapers, etc…..

I could not make the Supes meeting last Tuesday due to work, but… I am amazed that the AOCDS did not even show up to read the statement they prepared. Since Wayne Quint was such an advocate of Sheriff Carona’s every time I spoke on an issue or off Agenda item, boom he was there to counter-act for Sheriff Carona. So you see this letter means nothing to me unless you are there to read it Wayne. Now on the subject of good old Jo Ann Galisky. There is no Sheriff that should be able to pick their interim when being indicted by the US Courts. I have a problem with that one also. The story broke in the OC Register long before, that she was going to take over and everyone said no, no, no, no. Well I guess the Register was right huh? Reading a letter by Sheriff Carona to the public is absurd! You know when I used to speak every Tuesday on off Agenda on Lt. Hunt and how Sheriff Carona was going to bring this County down (before my father passed away 2 months ago) you know what this woman used to say to me in the hallway after I came out from the meeting? She called me a sore loser..This what some of the Sups let Sheriff Carona put into office..
Now I will challenge her to a lie detector test if she wants. She knows I will win and she will lose.

Regards,
Karen A Finn
Police Officers Wife

antonio says:

November 14, 2007 at 4:44 am

Sheriff-Coroner is an elected position but the Supes just want one fo their cronies to appoint so they control him or her like a puppet.

If a new Sheriff is needed, let the peopole vote on one. Meanwhile, quit grandstanding and remember, if you are a politician, most likely, you too have skeletons in the closet. Politics is a dirty business.

Concerned Soul says:

November 14, 2007 at 7:06 am

Sludge, show some class!

Response to Sludge says:

November 14, 2007 at 7:18 am

GET A LIFE SLUDGE! Or, are you one of the corrupt attorneys that has enabled the corruption in this county? Free speech and press still exists in the U.S. but persons like yourself, politically connected and self-serving, like to initmidate others when they exercise free speech… TAKE YOUR MEDS Sludge. You are a disgrace to OC and the USA!

plowe says:

November 14, 2007 at 7:32 am

To Concerned Soul and Response to Sludge:

Sludge, who was warned about his flaming comments last week, has been unapproved for commenting. He was calling other people names, which is not allowed under the Register’s guidelines.

Thanks,
Peggy Lowe

SHEISTER says:

November 14, 2007 at 7:41 am

They’re all corrupt. All the way up the ladder. There is no avoiding it. It seems if you are a OC Sheriff, you gain this sense of invisibility. You seem to feel that you can do what you want, when you want, where you want. This one just got caught because the stakes were much higher. Maybe if they were not thrown straight into the correctional system fresh out of the academy, things would not be this way. I feel that they gain this sense of power because when they are young and fresh they build a mentality that everyone around them is crap and they are untouchable and far above any law.

NO HEADLIGHTS FOR CARONA says:

November 14, 2007 at 2:29 pm

If only it were that simple to deem someone “unapproved for sheriffing”.

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