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Sheriff candidates to debate Wednesday night

April 27, 2010

The six candidates for County Sheriff are scheduled to meet in a public forum Wednesday night at Embassy Suites in San Luis Obispo.

Mark Adams, Joe Cortez, Ben Hall, Jerry Lenthall, Ian Parkinson, and Mike Teixiera will participate in the discussion being co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters and the Sheriff’s Advisory Council. Candidates will be given a chance to make opening statements and respond to written questions from the audience.

The candidate forum is expected to run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The primary election is set for June 8. If no one candidate achieves 50 percent plus one vote, the top two candidates move on to the general election in November.

The election is being held to replace Sheriff Pat Hedges, who decided not to seek a fourth term in office.


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Ian is anything but a set of fresh eyes. If elected, his first day at work would be focusing on his second term. He really likes telling people he’s “forty-five years old.” Well, you’ve got to be 50 years old to get your retirement from PERS. If Ian goes into the county retirement system, you need 5-years to vest yourself. He’ll lack one year, so, he needs that second term to begin his second retirement. So how do you set yourself up for a second term — accept the cheap, lets change the rules DSA endorsement. Promise someone he’ll be under-sheriff. And hey folks, all you working at SLOPD that are ready to retire (maxed out) but financially can’t, Ian will promise them a job at the sheriff’s department.


Fresh eyes? Don’t think so. Business as always? I think so. Ian is so embedded into the good old boys, the Sheriff’s Department will not change under his leadership. The Sheriff makes just a little over $183,000 per year. Don’t you think the Top Cop of the county should have more education that a HS diploma — or is it a GED?


Time to wake up. June 8th is just around the corner.


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Let’s hear more from-about Hall, Teixeira, and Adams.


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I don’t want to have to vote for Ian, but I could. He is green. He has no preconceptions. He COULD go to the department with fresh eyes, young blood, and a pretty clean record. I don’t care if he has his brother review his writing. Maybe, just maybe, that is a plus. He can recognize when some help is needed, and is not so arrogant that he can’t ask for it.


Cortez? He headed what so many of us consider be a bit of an over-active police department that would cite you for stepping your toe in the cross walk before the light turned green.


Lenthal? Gotta be kidding me.


Lenthal never made more than sergeant at SLOPD. How come? He then pulled in a ton of money to be a county supervisor and did the good-boy job of paying all of those developers back for funding his election. He cost the rest of us a TON of money when he violated the law and voted against the input of the Planning Staff, etc, and voted in the favor of the corporations and developers who paid to have him elected.


So we know now that Lenthal is really good at taking money from monied individuals and paying them back before he does the work he was elected to do. We did not – and do not – have money in the county to spend on correcting the poor choices of a supervisor.


Since we know Lenthal cannot go above a sergeant in the SLOPD and can only be elected county supervisor with the help of a ton of money by developers, and since we know Lenthal is not above IGNORING legal council and voting to violate the law and cost YOU money why in God’s name would you vote for him? Break the law he did. Since we know he is willing to break the law and cost you and I a ton of money, why in God’s good name would we elect him for anything other than the first AMTRAK ticket out of town?


So who does that leave, Teixeira?


I’ll be at Embassy Suites. Red tie. Front and Center. If you don’t ask why a law breaker should be elected to replace a lawbreaker, I will.


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The Sheriff doesn’t make decisions relating to the land use ordinance which was at the center of Lenthall’s opposition. Lenthall is the only one with experience in such a large budget as County Supervisor and has earned a very good education. Cortez is educated but always worked for small departments and is too yuppie for the unincorporated areas of the county. Parkinson is young and a good communicator but is poorly educated and has no experience with a budget that large or a staff of 400. Hall has good qualifications but not supported by his own staff and Adams has zero management experience. Teixeira is a very nice man but his experience is only as a supervisor. I am looking forward to hearing each of the candidates tonight. It is important to learn who brings the largest skill set to the table and thier answers will be critical, in my opinion. I commend the LWV for hosting the forum so we can rate the responses on facts rather than have a contest as to whom can do the best job of bashing the other candidates. I’ll be in the back of the room with no tie.


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Lenthall was soundly trounced out of town and off the county board of supervisors for more reasons that the land use ordinance. HIs blatant disregard for the law and the input of employees paid to provide it says everything about his character.


Lenthalls “qualifications” do not translate to sheriff any more than Gail Wilcox’s qualifications make her a good union rep.


Character is lacking in both of them.


To believe that his disregard of others, their jobs and input, and the law will suddenly change by being placed in another environment is really naive.


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Willie seems to make one of the most important points about the position of Sheriff. The person elected must be a highly qualified executive manager capable of leading 400+ employees and a $50+ million budget. A good street cop doesn’t hold a candle to what is needed in the big-business that law enforcement has become. I want someone with the ability to be a good steward for our tax dollar and minimize the risk of lawsuit. A highly educated business-minded person with good law enforcement skills is critical. Parkinsom may be a good cop but a couple of years as a manager and no education is far short of what is needed to clean up the mess left by the current Sheriff. The actual point here is to look very closely at the qualifications of each candidate rather than the usual popularity contest. God knows we need a good Sheriff and the deputies deserve true leadership.


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Will Ian Parkinson be there?


Or, expecting tough questions, will he send in his brother?


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Elections are such wonderful things to reflect the will of the people.


One question that will be asked by many folks publicly as well as privately are questions of uniform enforcement and public safety that exists beyond the reach of the Board of Supervisors.


It is interesting to see WHO has signs on Dan DuVaul’s property … and they probably don’t realize that they are not making any points with the locals. In a tight election, it doesn’t take much to swing things.


Roger Freberg


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Roger — Curious minds want to know. WHO does have signs up on DeVaul’s property?


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They all have similar LE training and experience.

They are all charming and impressive speakers.

They can all do the job.

Its interesting that one of the candidates is a police captain with no college.

It’s also very interesting that our State Senator never even finished college.

(Unless it was just completed to mute this opinion)

Others have either an on-line and formal Criminal Justice degrees.

I hope that all you educated people pick someone who has a formal education proctored by real academic professors in something a little more than criminal justice or poliuce science.

The true capacity and quality is developed from academic discipline and experience


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Well that put’s Ian Parkinson at the bottom of the list.


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The Tribune and reported that he has not yet finished his online criminal justice program.


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