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Opinion
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- Written by: Kevin Burke
As a local chief of police and president of the Lake County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association, I would like to correct some inaccurate statements that have been made during the current campaign for Lake County Sheriff.
One of the candidates for this office, Francisco Rivero, has publicly stated and promised that he will “reinstate the Drug Task Force eliminated by the current sheriff.” Mr. Rivero has repeated this claim in written campaign literature that is being mailed to Lake County voters.
With all due respect to Mr. Rivero, these statements are false in every respect and I urge him to discontinue making them.
The currently serving sheriff, Rodney Mitchell, did not eliminate our local drug task force. Instead, the California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE) decided to withdraw from our local task force.
The reason given in a detailed letter from BNE was a $12 million budget shortfall and the loss of 80 narcotics agent positions statewide.
In addition, no elected sheriff has the authority to bring BNE back until they decide they are financially able to return, and Deputy Rivero knows or should know this. Any promise to bring them back is misleading as BNE has already promised to return when their budget will support it.
As a local chief of police, I have been a member of the Narcotics Task Force Executive Board since 2006 and was present when Sheriff Rodney Mitchell worked tirelessly to get assistance from state officials to bolster the funding for BNE so that they could continue participation in our task force.
On April 2, 2009, a factual article about BNE’s withdrawal from the Lake County Narcotics Task Force appeared in a local news story. The facts are as true today and can be viewed with the following link, http://lakeconews.com/content/view/8003/919/ .
Most importantly, Deputy Rivero's statement implies that a local drug task force no longer exists. The Lake County Sheriff's Department, along with some other local agencies, still has full-time staff assigned to drug enforcement, and the efforts of these hard working officers should be acknowledged rather than minimized.
Chief Kevin Burke of Lakeport Police is president of the Lake County Law Enforcement Chiefs Association.
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- Written by: John Thornton
My name is John Thornton and I am the son of Lynn Thornton who was killed the night of April 29, 2006.
My mother was killed by the negligence of Russell Perdock, a Lake County Sheriff's captain, who worked for and with Sheriff Rodney Mitchell.
I am writing this letter to express my sincere love for my mother, Lynn, and to give my full support in favor of Francisco Rivero for sheriff and why you should vote Sheriff Rodney Mitchell out of office!
My mother Lynn was everything to me. Not only was she my best friend who was always there for me, but she also taught me many morals and principles. One of those morals was to tell the truth, which is something that I could only wish Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell would follow and live by.
Since that night of April 29, 2006, Sheriff Rodney Mitchell has protected Perdock from facing any charges in spite of his reckless actions that led to my mother’s death. Instead, Mitchell shifted the attention to an innocent man, Bismarck Dinius.
Bismarck was wrongly charged and later rightfully acquitted, but not until after almost three years after the incident. Mitchell deliberately dragged out the case and charges to obviously satisfy the statute of limitations, therefore protecting Russell Perdock, the man who was at fault all along.
Sheriff Rodney Mitchell hasn’t demonstrated by any means that he deserves the leadership or title of Sheriff through his acts of injustice by not prosecuting the responsible person for my mother’s death, Russell Perdock.
My mother’s love and kindness can never be replaced and I know nothing I do or say can ever bring her back to me, and what makes it even more difficult to deal with is that Russell Perdock and Rodney Mitchell never did the right thing from the beginning. They put more effort into a coverup and ignoring the facts, which is why the Dinius case generated so much attention.
I ask the people of Lake County for their vote and support of Frank Rivero because he is a man who has morals, ethics and understands justice. Frank has the right mind and character to lead, serve and protect the people of Lake County, and most important to me, to get justice for my mom.
John Thornton lives in Carmichael, Calif.
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- Written by: Jack Baxter
Lake County candidates have had their signs stolen, damaged and torn down by people with a different political view. Worse yet our well-meaning citizens have been harassed and intimidated for not sharing these views.
When people feel they must resort to vandalism, intimidation and threats that has gone way too far. We must all stand together to ensure the rights of every one, which includes their right to openly express their thoughts or to run for public office. Rather then attack candidates we should thank them for offering to step up and run for public office.
I too signed the political fair practice agreement and pledged to abide by it in the spirit for which it is intended. I stand by that pledge and I stand by everyone’s right to free thought, speech and freedom of the press.
I disagree with both my opponents in this sheriff’s race as far as leadership and management style and philosophy. This is my right as it is theirs to disagree with my own.
I have stuck to the issues and not personalities, rumor or innuendo. If I do not know something is a fact I say so, however, I believe it is the obligation of candidates to share their views on the various topics when asked.
I believe in the right of free press, which has often exposed wrongdoing by our public officials who would have that information covered up. As a public official I believe it is my duty to work with the media not against them. Granted there are times when information must be held because of legal restrictions or an ongoing investigation however whenever possible the door must remain open.
I too followed the local blogs hoping to gather information to help make my decision to run for office. I hoped to learn what their perspective of problems and issues in Lake County were. I was amazed at the things being said about local officials and their families by people hiding behind the mask of anonymity and I have said so many times.
Complaining about government has become a national pastime but it is our right to do so. Sharing your thoughts of government and our elected officials is a good thing and we can learn from this. Attacking while hiding behind a mask is another.
I was very disappointed to see the vicious attacks on our deputies and their families and law enforcement officers in general. Nowhere do these victims have an opportunity to face their accusers or have an opportunity to defend their good names. Each time they have tried they are subjected to more attacks and shouted down. This is not the American way and I have no time for such foolishness. I stopped reading these blogs months ago.
I would encourage everyone to take the time to listen to what each candidate has to say, review what he or she have to offer. Only then can we each make an informed decision as to which candidate best suits our needs. Stick to the issues not personalities, then vote for the candidate of your choice. Please give everyone the same opportunity, free of interference, because your personal views may be different.
We must all stand together and not allow a few would-be thugs with special agendas to bully our community. Their rights are guaranteed but so are ours.
Jack Baxter is a candidate in this year's sheriff's race. He lives in Lakeport.
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- Written by: Tony King
I recently learned Lake County is one of only two counties in the entire state of California without debt attached to its general fund, which means the Board of Supervisors in Lake County has been operating within its budget and are in the black.
This information came from the California State Association of Counties and is something all of us in Lake County should be proud of.
Jeff Smith, as the senior member of the Board of Supervisors, and all of the board should be lauded for their fiscal responsibility in these challenging economic times.
As a taxpayer, I am greatly impressed and will be voting to retain Jeff Smith as supervisor in the coming election.
Tony King lives in Clearlake, Calif.