The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

July 2008 ISSUE

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and CID/HOA board of directors and report the facts!

Currency Devaluation & The New Sheriff in Town

We congratulate Sandra Hutchens as the new Sheriff in town – We hope she has not made any pacts with the devil, but the devil is already holding victory parties!

June 12, 2008

In a self-congratulatory column, a local columnist exults his political acumen and rhetorically asks “ When two weeks ago, I devoted an entire column to Hutchens – and Hutchens alone among the nine candidates, didn't that tell you something”?, then goes on to conclude that “As for me, there was a sense the county had just done something pretty exceptional and pretty good” to describe the implications of Sandra Hutchens’ selection as the new Orange County Sheriff.

Pretty exceptional would have been to have scrapped the “paper cut” criteria in order to consider candidates with better leadership credentials, otherwise the term is pure unadulterated hyperbole

Sadly, before the columnist dedicated an entire column to Hutchins, we denounced the criteria used by the OC board of supervisors to winnow down the list of candidates to nine and compared it to the proverbial definition of insanity – doing the same thing over and over expecting different results – consider that the criteria used would have deemed General Colin Powell as an inadequate candidate to lead the OCSD, for example.

We chastised the OC board of supervisors for failing to grab an Obama Moment – an opportunity that could have change the cultural and political landscape of the county – instead the board succumbed to the Deliverance Syndrome.

Then there is the question of the magic number nine – instead of selecting the top five candidates from the initial paper cut, the board chose to interview nine candidates? Why? So that Sandra Hutchens could be considered, even though she was not a top-five scorer, and extended the number of candidates to interview to nine, so that Lt. Bill Hunt supporters would be satisfied that due diligence had been used – understanding that certain candidates with potentially exceptional leadership qualities so desperately needed in the OCSD had already been eliminated.

Before the columnist had a chance to exercise his political forecasting prowess, we had already concluded that the final two candidates were not the best, but not the worst. We also concluded that in this case, the search firm would have been responsible for the selection of the new OCSD because it willingly participated in a process with obviously predictable results – the results materialized as we predicted.

We congratulate Sandra Hutchens as the new Sheriff in town – and although we hope she has not made any pacts with the devil, the rumor mill is that the devil is jumping for joy

Loopholes, the OCWWF and the next OCSD You cannot be part of the solution when you have been part of the problem, as in Lt Hunt. The Spin Machines for Hutchens and Walters for OC Sheriff are full throttle trying to persuade the Orange County Board of Supervisors that their gal or guy is the right person for the job. So much dirt is flowing in both directions putting SUV commercials to shame. Then, there are the Lt. Hunt supporters doing a Hilary impersonation tying to get their guy the number two spot, or any spot for that matter, in the new OCSD.

Star Search – for the OCSD – The Final Episode SetAlthough the process used by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to winnow down the number of candidates to replace much maligned OC Sheriff Michael Carona was at best flawed, the final two candidates represent not necessarily the best of the field, but not necessarily the worst, either.

The OCSD Culture Thing – It is not my Job! - The leading OC Sheriff candidates agree that the OC Sheriff’s Department needs an organizational culture makeover, the OC District Attorney finds the current OCSD’s culture lacking, the Orange County Board of Supervisors demand changes to the OC Sheriff’s Department’s organizational culture, and the President of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Wayne Quint agree that a culture change is required.

OCSD Insiders Make Paper Cut - How? We do not know We understand that a "paper cut" has been performed by Bob Murray and Associates, the talent search firm being used to hire the next OC Sheriff. We have contacted a number of the cut candidates - apparently, they did not know they were no longer viable candidates.

Working to Serve or Serving to Work? - AOCDS Fundraiser
The Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS) is launching a fundraising drive, for the first time in the association?s history, according to a piece of direct mail, targeting the communities they serve.

Working to Serve, Or Serving To Work - Letter to OC Register Columnist
Another good column. I was wondering if there was ever any serious consideration to any non-union government employee for the position of publicly elected Sheriff by either the Register or Supervisors? That is all I see in your Top Five selection and.

The Coto de Caza Board of Directors to Help Hire the new OC Sheriff?
A cursory review of the criteria used to winnow down the Orange County Sheriff candidate?s list to seven, (the seven are then to be interviewed by the Orange County Board of Supervisors) indicates that Governor Mit Romney, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,...

The Three OC Blind Mice
OCDA's Rackauckas says that 9-month grand jury probe of jail beating death did not find evidence of criminal wrongdoing by sheriff's personnel, although sheriff's personnel does only bare minimum to keep their jobs.

The OCSD Fox Guarding the Hen
According to the OCRegister, ?Thousands of pages of transcripts released Monday by the Superior Court showed a jail system out of control, with deputies failing to perform even cursory patrols of the jail barracks, instead relying on jail ?shotcallers? ?...

OC Board of Supervisors Full Of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing!
The Orange County Board of supervisors came into the current term with a fiery agenda rivaled only by Senator?s Obama?s spiritual advisor?s Wright ?s rhetoric - ?Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, the creeps in this petty county come to roost from...

Public Safety Owners and Orphans
Invariably when we publish public safety statistics, proponents of the status quo ridicule our analysis and detractors use the law of attributions to invoke the proverbial ?it?s not mine/their job?.

A Chat with OC Sheriff Candidates - Coto de Caza's Own Ralph Martin
We have offered the seven identified OC Sheriff candidates; Jack Anderson, Bill Hunt, Craig Hunter, Kevin Keyes, Ralph Martin, Ken Maddox and Paul Walters, the CotoBuzz Journal as a platform to communicate with their respective potential supports. We...

OC Sheriff personnel not criminally liable in death of Chamberlain- OCDA
OCDA Tony Rackauckas announced today the conclusion of the criminal portion of a grand jury investigation into the beating murder of inmate, John Chamberlain and the indictment against three former inmates. Nine former inmates, in total now, face murder...

Winter Cleaning at the OCSD Continues
The fallout of Sheriff Carona?s resignation continued to unfold Friday, as his former second-in-command, Assistant Sheriff Jo Ann Galisky was released, and Assistant Sheriff Steve Bishop, head of investigations, announced his immediate retirement

A Chat with OC Sheriff Department Candidate: Craig Hunter
What the OCSD needs is a new leader with a proven track record in law enforcement who will be a strong role model, lead by example with integrity and provide a new vision of teamwork and accountability - Hunter

A Chat with OC Sheriff Candidates: Kevin Keyes
The first and most important priority is to restore honor to the office that was taken by its last office holder- Kevin Keyes