Both challengers of Sheriff Sandra Hutchens attacked the incumbent at a candidates forum tonight, but distinctions between all three were clear.
Former Orange County Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Hunt repeatedly emphasized the Second Amendment and his vow to make it easier to get concealed weapons permits, while Anaheim Deputy Police Chief Craig Hunter characterized Hutchens as a Los Angeles-style cop in a county where people expected more.
Click here to read the rest of my story on the forum.
County supervisors this morning approved a three-year contract agreement with the deputy sheriff’s union that calls for deputies to contribute toward their retirement and pushes back the retirement age for new hires.
The deal marks a compromise reached after six months of negotiations, as declining tax revenue and climbing retirement costs continue straining county coffers.
Supervisors got some pension reforms and no raises for deputies. The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs got the county to agree to pay more toward their health care costs.
If the county had forced further reforms, it wouldn’t have gotten any pension changes at all, Supervisor Bill Campbell said.
“Politics is the art of the possible,” he said. “There were certainly things I wanted out of this negotiation that I didn’t get. I certainly got things, too.”
In all, county staffers say the new deal should save the county $4.5 million over three years. Read the rest of this entry »
County Chairwoman Janet Nguyen laid into Sheriff Sandra Hutchens this morning for her plan to reorganize her department, saying Hutchens temporarily promoted managers to circumvent the board’s scrutiny and implying that the plan opens the county to legal challenges.
Other county supervisors echoed Nguyen’s concerns and said the sheriff should have kept them better informed of her plans.
Supervisors voted unanimously to freeze all temporary promotions within the department and ticked off a list of potential issues for county staff to investigate.
“Law enforcement should not feel they can operate on a different level than other departments,” Nguyen said. “I want to make sure we work together as a county … Going forward, I for one, want to inform the public that I will not allow this sort of antagonistic attitude toward the board to continue. ”
Hutchens defended her plan, saying the budget hasn’t changed as a result of the changes she’s made and that Nguyen should not be micromanaging her department. And she pointed out that Nguyen’s staff didn’t attend a briefing for supervisor’s staff members on Monday.
“I think Supervisor Nguyen is confused,” Hutchens said. “I’m not a department head, I’m an elected official.” Read the rest of this entry »
More DNA is being analyzed at a faster pace under a new Orange County forensics program run by Sheriff Sandra Hutchens, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas and county CEO Thomas Mauk, according to a report being presented Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.
The report recommends that the trio continue to manage the renamed Orange County Crime Lab, formerly the Sheriff’s Forensic Science Services, at least until June when budgeting ends.
For decades, the lab was under the supervision of the sheriff, but Rackauckas and Mauk were added in 2008 to settle the district attorney’s claims that he could do a more efficient job.
Under the revamped lab, 12,817 DNA samples were anlayzed in fiscal 2008-09, up from 9,361 in 2007-2008, the report said. Turnaround times fell for most types of crimes, dropping about 12 days for homicides and about 50 days for arson. Read the rest of this entry »
(Updated6:15 p.m. with comments from OCEA General Manager Nick Berardino.)
Assistant Sheriff Mike Hillmann will be laid off this month, along with 23 non-sworn staff members at the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as part of a department reorganization aimed at reducing costs in the cash-strapped department, Sheriff Sandra Hutchens announced today.
The reorganization and decision to lay off Hillmann reduces the number of professional members who will get pink slips, Hutchens said. Last month, union leader Nick Berardino, said the department planned to lay off 57.
“It was a hard decision,” said Hutchens about laying off her hand-picked Assistant Sheriff. ” In order to save jobs, that was the decision I made, just as I did in the past with cuts. ”
The layoffs come as shrinking tax revenue continues pummeling the department’s budget. This fiscal year, the sheriff faced a $28 million budget reduction, and as sales tax revenues continued shrinking, she was asked to trim an additional $24 million from her spending plan mid-year. She faces an additional $65 million shortfall for fiscal year 2010-2011. Read the rest of this entry »
Just heard from sheriff’s candidate former Lt. Bill Hunt, who says he’s not too concerned that incumbent Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is outraising him by 5-to-1 in campaign contributions.
Hutchens reported raising $301,971 so far, while Hunt raised $57,351.
“(Former sheriff) Mike Carona outraised me 10-to-1 last time and barely avoided a runoff,” Hunt said.
The problem with that argument is Hunt was able to rightly accuse Carona of corruption. This time, the strongest thing he can accuse Hutchens of is not cleaning up Carona’s mess fast enough. Read the rest of this entry »
Appointed Sheriff Sandra Hutchens is rolling out the heavy artillery in her election effort. Hutchens has raised $301,971 for her war chest - about five times more than her two contenders, according to campaign disclosures made public this week.
Records show that she has spent $148,235, again outpacing by far challengers Anaheim deputy chief Craig Hunter and former sheriff’s lieutenant Bill Hunt. Is this a surprise? Not really. Hutchens is the incumbent and has instant credibility among high-end donors.
The next highest, so far, is Hunter, with $58,721 raised - $17,500 in a loan to himself - and $27,409 spent. Included in Hunter’s revenue is a $1,600 check from attorney Michael Schroeder, who was legal and political adviser to criminally convicted ex-sheriff Mike Carona.
Following close behind is Hunt, with $57,351 in revenue and $35,183 in expenses.
A lot of local politics and government news in this morning’s paper - here’s a roundup with links:
The recall of Mission Viejo Mayor Lance McLean remains uncertain. Recall advocates are ahead by 118 votes, with 1,140 to count, according to this online update. McLean has had his share of controversy, but recall proponents seem equally intent on breaking the council majority. Here’s the stated reason for the recall, here’s McClean’s rebuttal.
The ACLU has sued the city of Costa Mesa, challenging the city ordinance designed to keep day laborers from seeking employment on public streets. Story here.
The city of Anaheim is paying a $310,000 settlement to man beaten by Anaheim police officers. Story here.
Former Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl filed a false tax return in an effort to recoup money spent on the criminal defense of his son, according to court records. Story here.
When I read the email earlier this week from the Bill Hunt for Sheriff campaign, I was puzzled. On Jan. 18, O.C. GOP Chairman Scott Baugh called for Republican candidates to forgo union contributions and support a proposed ballot measure that would make it harder to collect union dues for political use. He then asked those candidates and officials who agreed to stand and introduce themselves to the several hundred Republicans on hand.
Bill Hunt did so, as did fellow sheriff candidate Craig Hunter. I was there, as was Register columnist Frank Mickadeit, who later wrote a column on how the decision by the two likely helped incumbent Sandra Hutchens, who made no such pledge.
But now Hunt is saying he did not make that pledge and wants the union’s help. Mickadeit runs down the details in his column today.
Sheriff’s deputies have agreed to start paying for a share of their retirement costs and reduce the lucrative “3 at 50″ pension benefit for new employees.
Members of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs voted overwhelmingly to approve a tentative three-year contract agreement with the county, union spokesman George Urch said tonight. The plan comes after months of negotiation with the county, which was pushing for ways to reduce deputy retirement costs.
About half the union’s members voted, and 86.5 percent — or 766 members — approved the tentative agreement, Urch said. The union’s president Wayne Quint declined to comment until after county supervisors vote on the agreement.
Supervisor Pat Bates touted the vote as a step forward toward pension reform.
“We have taken a very important step toward creating a sustainable pension system,” Bates said tonight. “I think we set a new bar for negotiations in other employee pensions.” Read the rest of this entry »
