OC Blog

San Clemente City Council May Endorse Bill Hunt For Sheriff

On page 11 of the agenda for the San Clemente City Council tonight is this unusual item:

6) Possible Endorsement of Former Lt. Bill Hunt to fill the Unexpired Term of the Orange County Sheriff in the Event the Current Incumbent Permanently Steps Down from Office. Pages 10-D(6)-1 through 10-D(6)-3

Is this really an appropriate action for a city council? Bill Hunt has made it clear he wants to be Sheriff. He already ran once. He'd like to be appointed to the job if Sheriff Mike Carona resigns, and plans to run in a special election should Carona quit.

I'd think a city council -- even in a city where Hunt was the de facto police chief -- would have more pressing matters to attend to than insert itself into the political morass of Carona succession maneuvering.

I don't know which San Clemente Councilman agendized this item, but he/she demonstrated a serious lapse in judgment.

Carona OK With OC GOP Resolution

I've heard of embracing the opposition, but this is different: according to Total Buzz, OC Sheriff Mike Carona supports the resolution to be considered tonight at Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee:

Mike Schroeder, spokesman for Sheriff Mike Carona,said that the sheriff supports the resolution to be consider tonight by the county GOP’s governing Central Committee. That resolution calls for Carona to remain on leave of absence until his federal corruption indictment is resolved. Schroeder said that’s the sheriff’s plan, although the logistics need to be worked out since three consecutive months completely off the job would result in him losing his gig. Carona is currently taking a 60-day leave.

You can read the rest of Martin's post here.

I would imagine that improves it's chances of passage.

I can't make it tonight, but it would be interesting to see how many of ex officio members and their alternates are absent tonight to avoid having to vote on their fellow elected.

Norby Makes It Official: Carona Should Resign

When I interviewed Supervisor Chris Norby on November 5, he said if Sheriff Mike Carona asked him what to do, he'd say resign:

Today, in his "Norby Notes" newsletter, he makes it official:

Chris Norby Sheriff: Only One Best Option
The federal criminal indictment against Sheriff Michael Carona has placed a cloud over Orange County’s largest department. Only the Sheriff can lift this cloud by resigning his position and allowing the Board of Supervisors to appoint new leadership. So far he is seeking vindication through the looming trial, but the judicial process may take many months and will, at the very least, reveal serious issues in the department’s leadership.

Bill Hunt Needs To Work On Shooting From The Lip

Yesterday, Martin Wisckol posted over at Total Buzz about a Bill Hunt fundraiser held yesterday morning.

While Bill Hunt is obviously running hard -- or as hard as you can when there's no election to run in -- I have to wonder how much he learned from last year's campaign.

Specifically, I'm referring to his comments before the Board of Supervisors last week regarding Sup. Moorlach's quasi-impeachment measure.

Sheriff Storm?

My county sources tell me that if Sheriff Mike Carona resigns, the Board of Supervisors will very likely appoint retired Assistant Sheriff Doug Storm to serve as a caretaker sheriff until a permanent sheriff is elected by the voters. That tracks with what I gauge to be the prevailing sentiment among the Supes to appoint a caretaker rather than someone who will stand for election.

For those keeping score at home, Storm was briefly the designated champion of Sheriff Brad Gates and the AOCDS to battle then-Marshal Mike Carona for the job back in 1998, before he bowed out and that mantle fell upon then-and-now Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters (himself a likely candidate for sheriff).

Storm had been appointed Assistant Sheriff by Brad Gates, and once elected, Carona re-appointed him.

An interesting wrinkle to a Storm appointment: he has been an active and vocal supporter of the county retirees' fight against the restructuring of the medical retiree program.

Carona Speaks On Leave-O-Absence

H/T to Chris Prevatt (*who tips his hat to Tin Star) regarding this preview of an interview with OC Sheriff Mike Carona by the Full Disclosure Network.

It doesn't really cover any new ground, but FDN promises the release of the entire November 8 interview "in the near future."

A Mini-Civics Course On Recalls

Talk of recall is in the air. Steve Greenhut called for one today over at Orange Punch, and Sup. John Moorlach told Peggy Lowe he'd support (but not lead) one.

During the public comments, the Supervisors queried Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley about the benchmarks for qualifying a county-wide recall.

Kelley said it would be necessary to gather the valid signatures of 151,409 registered OC voters -- or 10% of registered voters -- within a six-month period. I learned the 6 month window is in jurisdictions with more than 100,000 registered voters. I presume the time frame is shorter in smaller jurisdictions.

Sup. Campbell said he thought the requirement was 10% of the votes cast in the previous election, but Neal Kelley said that was the standard for judges.

Campbell then asked County Counsel Ben De Mayo if OC, being a charter county, could adjust the requirements. De Mayo said he couldn't answer for sure without further research, but he believed that to be the case.

Moorlach Charter Amendment Won't Make February Ballot

It doesn't look like Supervisor John Moorlach's proposed charter amendment will be on the February 5 ballot.

Board Chairman Chris Norby said he'd vote to put it on the ballot. Then Supervisor Nguyen stated she can't vote to place it on the February 5 ballot, but wants the Board to continue studying the issue during Carona's 60-day leave of absence.

Supervisor Bates has expressed her agreement with Supervisor Campbell that some kind of mechanism is necessary to deal with situations akin to Carona's, but she's not going to vote to place Moorlach's charter amendment on the February ballot.

Looks like it's back to the drawing board.

UPDATE (12:02 p.m.): They just voted 3-2 against placing Sup. Moorlach's proposed charter amendment on the Feb. 5 ballot.

Carona Stepping Down For 60 Days; AOCDS Says "Go!"

The denouement of Sheriff Mike Carona's career continues apace. According to Total Buzz, he'll announce his intention to take a 60-day leave of absence effective November 9.

And last night, the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs board voted unanimously to ask Carona to resign or take a leave of absence (H/T to Total Buzz).

Supes Debating Moorlach Proposal

If you're able, I recommending tuning into the live webcast of the OC Board of Supes and watching their lively discussion of Sup. John Moorlach's proposNew Postal.

Sup. Norby agreed to provide a second for the purposes of discussion if Moorlach would agree to delete the provision exempting supervisors from the proposal. Supervisors Bates, Moorlach and Norby are debating about how the, the proposed charter amendment would deal with the question of replacing a supervisor who was removed or placed on leave of absence.

Now you have District Attorney Tony Rackauckas speaking, with Assemblyman Todd Spitzer and Bill Hunt on deck.

I don't think Sup. Moorlach's charter amendment is going to make the February ballot. The other Supes have too many questions and concerns about the implications of such a charter amendment to want to rush something through a vote today, when they can take more time to think it through and place it on the June ballot if they choose. Sup. Campbell pretty much said he's not willing to put anything like this on the February ballot. Sup. Bates is definitely not voting in favor of it. Considering the battle Sup. Nguyen has been waging to hold onto her seat, I can't see her voting for this.