Piece from Lake County News, lakeconews.com
Diehl-Darms: Researching the sheriff's candidates
Written by Linda Diehl-Darms
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
My name is Linda Diehl-Darms and I am a longtime resident of Middletown. I attended the sheriff candidates’ debate at the Calpine Visitors Center on Wednesday, May 5, sponsored by Lake County News, Lake County Chamber of Commerce and the Calpine Visitors Center. I am very glad that I did. It is important to me to experience firsthand, and if that is not possible, then do my best to research before drawing conclusions of what I believe to be true on any given topic.
When there is a race for an elected position, I want to hear what each candidate has to bring to the table as far as qualifications and experience, I observe how they conduct themselves while answering questions, and if they evade or directly answer the questions being asked.
The following is a brief synopsis of the points that stuck out in my mind, please do not take my word for what I observed. This debate was videotaped and may be viewed at www.velocityvideoonline.com or at Lake County News, http://lakeconews.com/content/view/13719/939/. .
Mr. Baxter seems like a very nice man. He seemed forthright with his answers. He has a great background in education and work experience in law enforcement. I am a bit concerned regarding his ability to oversee such a large budget and it was not clear as to his personnel managerial skills. He made many references to his experience in San Jose with the police department. I believe every community has its own personality and I am not sure that applying San Jose philosophies to Lake County would work.
Mr. Rivero is charismatic. He has always been charming, respectful and courteous toward me whenever I have been out and about. He has been a businessman and owned and operated a Mortuary in San Francisco for 20+ years. He stated that it was very successful and required following stringent guidelines. He used this experience as the qualifications for having the experience to run the sheriff’s department. It is my understanding that the sheriff’s department is an umbrella and under that umbrella are distinct departments. So, in essence, several businesses are being run at one time.
There are many regulations that govern public funds that do not apply to private enterprises. I have concerns regarding his knowledge of the sheriff department’s funds when he makes statements concerning public school cutbacks being somehow related to the sheriff’s department spending. My understanding is that the school district funds and the sheriff department funds are unrelated.
Mr. Rivero made the remark that “respect and leadership are earned – it’s just that simple – Respect and leadership are earned first by example.” I completely agree. There is a woman in the sheriff’s department who has 30+ years with the department and is a captain in the corrections department. When Mr. Rivero was listing the number of personnel in leadership positions he stated, “three to four captains depending on how Rod (Mr. Mitchell – he views Crystal as a captain in his department) cares to view Crystal Esberg. She is in fact a correctional officer who is serving as captain in administration.”
I would think that achieving the position of captain is an honor regardless of which department within the sheriff’s department. Not counting Captain Esberg as a captain in the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, in my opinion, shows a lack of respect for her achievement.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Rivero pointed out that he has the courage to speak out to the people in the audience and in front of many of the deputy sheriffs in the audience “amongst many deputy sheriff’s who I know have committed some pretty atrocious acts during the time of their, uh, being a deputy sheriff.”
Several men got up and left the room. Some people in the audience whistled and clapped. I was in a state of disbelief. Why would someone who is looking to supervise these men publicly humiliate them? I could be wrong, but this does not seem to be the best avenue to earn respect.
There were three currently employed deputies in the audience; there also were several employees of the sheriff’s department present. After the debate, I introduced myself to the deputies who had left the room. I told them that I was sorry that a candidate would publicly humiliate them and I thanked them for their service to our community.
The next day I decided that I needed to know if there was any truth to the allegation that any of them had performed atrocious acts. I phoned the sheriff’s department and asked if my number could be given to these men so I could talk to them about it.
All three called me back. One of them stated that a couple of years ago there was a verbal allegation made against him and that there was never a formal written allegation. It is the policy of the sheriff’s department that even if there is a verbal allegation, it needs to be investigated. There was an investigation and the facts revealed cleared the deputy of any wrongdoing. The other two have had no allegations made against them. I was even offered by one of them to go through his personnel file.
None of these men as of May 6 had allegations made against them for atrocious acts. So now the question becomes, if Mr. Rivero is aware of atrocious acts performed by one or all of these deputies – why has he not reported them? Even if he believes nothing would be done about them, it is still a policy of the sheriff’s department that any misconduct of an officer is mandated to be reported. If Mr. Rivero is not willing to submit a report regarding atrocious acts when he knows that is a requirement of his job in the sheriff’s department, then how can I be sure that he would follow the laws that govern the Lake County Sheriff’s position?
Mr. Mitchell has the support of the deputy sheriffs and correctional officers association. That speaks volumes to me. He must be trusted and respected by the majority as their leader.
During the debate, Mr. Rivero made mention of witnessing despicable acts performed by some deputies within the department. Mr. Mitchell asked Mr. Rivero if he has not already done so, to please report them for investigation.
I spoke with former Lake County deputies and one of them is a 15-year veteran of the Lake County Sheriff’s Department. While these former deputies do not agree with Mr. Mitchell’s personnel managerial style, they know him to be straightforward and law abiding, and that he operates from a place of integrity.
As sheriff, Mr. Mitchell is responsible for the sheriff’s department and anything that does not go right is ultimately his responsibility, whether or not he was personally involved, because he is the head of his department.
Of the three candidates running, Mr. Mitchell is the most qualified. Is he perfect? No. Is he willing to listen and discuss issues with the public? Yes. If you have questions or concerns for Mr. Mitchell, call him. If your question or concern is one that the law allows him to discuss, he will.
From what I have observed and the research that I have done in speaking personally with members and former members of Sheriff Mitchell’s department (including many not mentioned in this letter) I do believe that he performs his duties as sheriff to the best of his ability and has earned the utmost respect from the majority of those employed by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department.
Linda Diehl-Darms lives in Middletown.
