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!

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.

June 9, 2008

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.

Good to see that that the Red County bloggers, a self-described Grassroots Politics from the Center Right picked up on the CotoBuzz Journal Reporting of the Orange County Board of Supervisors use of a search firm to irresponsibly filtering out otherwise qualified leaders.

If you accept the premise - as the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the OCDA and all the leading Sheriff candidates have – that the OCSD’s culture is in dire need of an extreme makeover, then it is disingenuous to suggest that an insider who has had a hand at creating the current culture is the person to lead the charge to change it. That is, you cannot be part of the solution when you have been part of the problem, as in Lt Hunt.

The board of supervisors, aided and abetted by special interest groups, either because of lack of vision, lack of leadership, lack of intestinal fortitude or a combination thereof, missed an Obama Moment – a golden opportunity handed to them with the indictment of Sheriff Carona, to change the cultural landscape in the OCSD, or as the Coto de Caza Board of directors might say, blame it on the loopholes

What is required in the OCSD is a take-charge leader who can go in and sweep all the Palmetto Bugs out of the department.

To provide additional context to the aforementioned Obama Moment, consider the following:

A Review of the criteria used to winnow down the Orange County Sheriff candidate’s indicates that Governor Mit Romney, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, General Colin Powell or captains of industry like Michael Dell, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs would not make the first cut. Initial interviews were conducted by Bob Murray and Associates (BMA) Vice President, Regan William. William’s claim to fame is having served as Director of Public Safety with the City of Sunnyvale, CA. - to put it in context, the City of Sunnyvale had a population of 131,760, according to the 2000 Census, whereas the County of Orange had a population of 2,846, 289, according to the same census. Refer to BMA’s website for “current searches” for additional comparisons - Sort of like the human resources secretary being asked to interview a candidate to replace the CEO!

Dismissing the process used by the Board of Supervisors to cut otherwise capable candidates as simply “law enforcement promotional endeavors” helps to promote one of the two candidates left standing, but does not help address the core problem with the OCSD, but helps to absolve the board, the OCDA and the AOCSD for the current state of affairs.

The fact is that the political future of the current OC board of Supervisors, whether they like it or not, will be tightly coupled to whether the Palmettos are expelled from the OCS department prior to the next election, unless the OCSD dies from bites from a thousand bugs before then.

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