Candidate for
Sheriff-Coroner; County of Santa Cruz

"I am a truly independent candidate who is an experienced and dedicated law enforcement officer. I believe that the main role of the Sheriff is to ensure the peace and safety of ALL the people of the county by enforcing laws by assessing the severity of the crime, the community standards, and the specific issues involved in each incident." The most important issues to me are:

Crime and Public Safety

The basic problems that jeopardize public safety have been neglected. Increased violence, gang activity, and rampant abuse of serious drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine will be top priorities in my administration.

Staffing!

This is the #1 problem facing the Sheriff's Office and the public. We often have only 7 Deputies on Patrol to police the entire unincorporated area of the county. With the mandate to reduce prison populations, many dangerous prisoners will be released from prison early into our community. Crime WILL increase. It is urgent to get more Deputies on patrol and to make REALISTIC plans to deal with this.

Community Involvement

As Sheriff, I plan to personally reach out to the various different communities throughout Santa Cruz County, and work closely with them to identify problems and improve public safety. I am inspired by the model of Take Back Santa Cruz, and would like to use them as a model for Community Policing for the entire county. It is exciting to imagine what we could accomplish by working cooperatively!

School Safety

The Sheriff's Office needs to enhance student safety by:

1) Working with schools to develop plans for dealing with critical incidents, training school staff and Sheriff's personnel to work together quickly and effectively in emergencies, and

2) Possibly expanding the SRO Program with additional Deputies or Security Guards on certain campuses.

Government Over-Reach

Government at many levels seems to be enacting unreasonable regulations that make criminals out of average citizens in the interests of political ideology. The NDAA is a prime example of this. As Sheriff, I intend to protect the rights of the people, of the county, and to uphold the Constitution of the United States.

Communication, Coordination, Essential Equipment

Currently, emergency communication and coordination between police (and fire) agencies is often chaotic and emergency pre-planning is virtually non-existent. Basic Equipment is woefully lacking: for example, patrol vehicles STILL do not have GPS's to guide deputies to calls, nor viable mapping systems.

Goals and Objectives and the Mission Statement

Without goals and objectives there is no unity of purpose. These cannot be dictated by administrators (as is currently the case), but must be carefully researched, thoroughly examined and discussed, and then prioritized. The Sheriff needs to be the LEADER in this endeavor.