Letters
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- Written by: Anthony Farrington
I often think about how Lake County looked back then; and how our county has evolved over the years both in terms of positive and negative changes. No one can deny the natural beauty and splendor of our county; however, below this beautiful surface lies a criminal element that for many residents and victims has become unbearable.
According to recent crime reports published by the FBI (Uniform Crime Reports 2019, 2020) the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake have one of the highest per capita crime rates in the state of California. In addition, we are now experiencing growth in crime in Middletown and surrounding areas. The Public Policy Institute of California “PPIC” reported that Lake County has one of the highest arrest rates in the state.
Make no mistake, these haunting statistics have not been shared by me during this election to cast a shadow on our local law enforcement and their efforts. In fact, quite the opposite. I believe that our officers and deputies are doing their best by making the necessary arrests with limited staffing and resources.
However, like many members of law enforcement, I believe that we can do more to hold criminals accountable, and do more to invest in public safety which is necessary in order to turn the tide on crime.
Throughout this election Susan Krones has relentlessly beat the political drum stating that she is a “prosecutor,” and that I am just a politician; however, she is the only candidate flaunting political endorsements which means she is the only candidate who will owe political favors.
Another red flag for voters is the fact that despite her 29 years of experience as a prosecutor she has not received one formal endorsement from law enforcement. For these reasons, I could no longer remain idle and decided that I wanted to do something to effect change.
In 2020, the DA’s office had eight felony jury trials, but only had five jury convictions which resulted in a 62% conviction rate.
In 2021, the DA’s office had nine felony jury trials, but had only five jury convictions which resulted in a dismal 55% conviction rate. The state average for jury trial convictions for DA offices throughout the state exceeds 80%.
I believe that poor management and the fact that prosecutors are frequently confirming three to four jury trials for the same day are two major reasons for these low conviction rates. Having a single prosecutor confirm multiple jury trials for the same day puts the law on the side of the criminals instead of on the side of victims.
Due to this trial stacking, prosecutors are not able to properly immerse themselves into the fine details and nuances of a case that is required for successful litigation. In addition, the prosecutor’s time and resources are being juggled and divided in order to properly prepare their witnesses and build their case for each trial.
Setting multiple trials also adversely affects a prosecutor’s competency while raising ethical considerations; and places the DA’s office at a greater disadvantage when it comes to plea bargain negotiations — a prosecutor is often required to settle his or her cases on the same day of trial. Victims deserve to have a prosecutor who is focused solely on their case when preparing for a trial.
In addition, same day settlements waste scarce court and tax resources; and are a major inconvenience for members of the public who are called for jury duty. This must change.
The DA has the ability to end same day settlements, and by implementing such a policy, defense counsel; court staff; and jurors will know when a case is going to trial; and more importantly, the assigned prosecutor will be preparing for only one trial instead of multiple trials.
As your next DA, I will implement this policy and other policies that will bring predictability; competency; and raise the conviction rate to above 80 percent.
Ms. Krones’ years of experience does not mean that she is necessarily competent and possessed of good judgment. For example, Ms. Krones has pushed for a number of plea deals that shock the conscience, and quite candidly are an embarrassment to crime victims and their families.
On March 13, 2021, Keilah Coyle killed two people outside of Middletown while driving intoxicated at almost twice the legal limit. Ms. Krones agreed to reduce multiple felony counts and charges against the defendant in an open plea deal that resulted in a sentence of three years of probation with time served and substance abuse treatment.
Ms. Coyle should have been sent to prison. At a recent debate, Ms. Krones deflected and had the audacity to put the blame at the feet of Judge Andrew Blum, a judge who is known to be hard on crime.
Ms. Krones also recently reached a plea deal of “probation only” and no prison time in a child pornography case for Jeffery Cramer who possessed and produced tribute videos of child pornography. Thankfully, Judge Shanda Harry rejected this asinine plea deal and subsequently sentenced Mr. Cramer to two years in prison.
In addition, in 2020 Ms. Krones pushed for a plea deal of “probation only” for Krystina Pickersgill who sold multiple Lake County teenage girls for sex, despite Judge J. David Markham having already rejected such a horrific plea deal. One of the teenage victims stated in court that she had “true feelings of disgust with the justice system …”
At our last debate Ms. Krones placed blame on Judge Harry, and also former District Attorney Don Anderson who had previously presented the same plea deal that was rejected by Judge J. David Markham.
Unlike Ms. Krones who has advocated and pushed for “probation only” sentences for child sex trafficking cases and child pornography cases, I will end these “probation only” plea deals and vigorously prosecute these perpetrators that harm our children.
I will also end all sentencing bargaining for crimes of murder, rape, child molest; and arson. All of these criminal matters will be prosecuted to the fullest extent under the law and maximum sentences will be requested.
Ms. Krones talks about her experience, but for political reasons she conveniently discounts my approximate 200 court trials and my state and federal jury trial experience.
In addition, she conveniently leaves out my 16 years of experience as a county supervisor where I provided budget oversight over the DA’s office, the sheriff’s department, the jail, Probation Department and Juvenile Hall.
Ms. Krones provides no solutions or leadership on how to combat the crime that continues to plague our community; nor does she provide any leadership to increase her office’s low conviction rate while under her watch. She offers no solutions to enhance the pay of deputy DAs and reduce staff turnover.
In addition, she has failed to implement adequate office technology which has resulted in police officers from Clearlake being required to hand deliver written reports and evidence instead of using technology that would allow remote delivery so that the officers can remain on the streets and patrol instead of serving as a mail courier.
I know that by talking about the high criminal rate, the low conviction rate and my voiced concerns about the lack of the organization in the DA’s office may have caused some indigestion for staff, in particular Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
With that being said, I appreciate Mr. Hinchcliff’s years of dedicated public service as a DA; and despite his political motivations and hard feelings I would like the opportunity to work with him in order to better enhance operations, increase office efficiencies and increase the conviction rate.
Unlike many people, I am not one to hold personal grudges, and I truly believe that serving the residents and victims of our community is more important than petty politics and/or personal disagreements.
I also want to publicly congratulate Mr. Hinchcliff for his state award where he was named “Wildlife Prosecutor of the Year” due to his zealous efforts by going after illegal game hunters and poachers.
If elected, I will work hard to hopefully inspire Mr. Hinchcliff, and/or other deputy DAs to one day receive a similar award for prosecuting child molesters, rapists and/or criminals that perpetrate domestic violence against women and children.
It probably goes without saying that the constant barrage of letters to the editor submitted by Ms. Krones and her inner circle of supporters are demonstrative of signs of desperation and a clear concern that my message and platform for change is resonating with the voters.
Unlike Ms. Krones, I do not blame the voters for her lack of holding criminal defendants accountable; nor do I place blame at the feet of our hardworking judges.
In this election, I am asking the voters to see past all the orchestrated distractions and political attacks and focus on what this election is really about.
It’s really quite simple, the voters have two candidates with different experience and professional backgrounds to choose from — one candidate who believes that our high crime statistics, low conviction rates and felony “probation only” plea deals are acceptable, and another candidate who believes that the status quo and “more of the same” is abhorrent and no longer tolerable.
I am confident that the voters of this great county will see through all the distractions and personal attacks and vote for the latter.
I respectfully ask for your vote.
Anthony Farrington lives in Lakeport, California.
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- Written by: Thomas Feimer
There are two candidates: One, Patrick Sullivan, lives here in Lake County and has spent the last three and a half years working as our tax administrator. Before that, he worked for six and a half years in the Mendocino Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office. In total, that’s 10 years of experience dealing with rural taxation and revenue.
The other candidate, Paul Flores, worked in the Lake County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office roughly 23 years ago, before moving to Southern California. He has worked in various finance- and taxation-related positions there over the years, including a stint with the Orange County Treasurer. But until this election his presence in this county appears to have mainly been as a vacationer.
Both candidates have run clean campaigns without the animosity we have witnessed in some of our other local races. Unfortunately, decent politics do not seem to grab the public’s attention: At a recent town hall in Middletown, Sullivan and Flores had to answer the fewest questions from the public of any of the candidates. The moderator apologized, describing the office as “geeky.”
But make no mistake: The regulatory environment that the county treasurer-tax collector must operate in has changed dramatically in the near quarter of a century that has passed since Flores left here for Southern California.
For example, online rental platforms like Airbnb and VRBO didn’t really exist at that time. Since then, they have come to dominate the market, and have created whole new needs for tax compliance and enforcement.
Then there’s what is perhaps the most significant change that has occurred in the decades since Flores left Lake County: The legalization of cannabis. It has created a complicated state and local regulatory framework that the treasurer-tax collector must navigate.
For example, Lake County has both a cannabis cultivation tax, a flat tax based on square feet utilized, and a cannabis business tax based on gross receipts. These require different systems for compliance and collections. Flores has not detailed what, if any, experience he has had in dealing with these challenges.
Patrick Sullivan has. He took the lead helping the county to obtain third-party software to help identify and monitor unregistered short-term rentals. He spearheaded the enforcement of registration requirements for them, and the collection of delinquent transient occupancy taxes. He has worked to see Lake County awarded state grants that fund code enforcement efforts to combat illegal cannabis cultivation. He has kept on top of continued updates to laws and regulations, at both the state and local levels, regarding the county's investments, and helped to successfully incorporate these changes into the county's investment policy.
In his town hall appearance, Mr. Flores has emphasized the need for “teamwork” and being a “team player” as the keys to success as treasurer-tax collector. He also noted the need to work with the five supervisors on “hard decision making.” However, Mr. Flores states that he has taken a “different approach” to endorsements. Noting that he has been largely absent from Lake County for 20 plus years, he states that he doesn’t feel that he needs, nor does he wish to get “entangled” in endorsements.
Patrick Sullivan is endorsed by multiple current and former office holders, employees, professionals and business owners in this county, including all five current members of the Board of Supervisors. Former supervisors Rob Brown and Anthony Farrington have both endorsed him. As the readers of these pages probably know, Brown and Farrington don’t seem to agree on much these days. But both believe Patrick Sullivan is the best pick for our treasurer-tax collector.
The elected office of treasurer-tax collector demands someone with current and relevant experience, and the relationships necessary to produce tangible results with that experience.
Patrick Sullivan has spent the past several years gaining that experience and building those relationships. That is why he has earned my vote for treasurer-tax collector, and why I think he deserves your vote too.
Thomas Feimer is an attorney in Lakeport, California.
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- Written by: Roberta Actor
This DA is a competent no-drama public servant, that is, she just prosecutes criminals.
In contrast, the antics of her opponent are unseemly, at best, and possibly unethical.
We don't need promises that won't be kept, news stories about good-old-boy grandstanding, and sometimes even embarrassing prosecutorial errors and malfeasance.
Let's have another four years of conscientious and experienced professionalism from DA Susan Krones.
Roberta Actor lives in Lakeport, California.
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- Written by: Joey Luiz
To listen to one who grew up in privilege like Anthony, and inherited much of his wealth and properties, refer to poor people living in old resorts and motels (the only place they can afford) as criminals and “human blight” is disgusting.
I was a child when my father disappeared and the only place my single mother could afford, while putting herself through school, was in one of those resorts.
Maybe, in his 16 years as a county supervisor, Anthony could have focused more on developing managed affordable housing and the poverty and crime surrounding these places would not exist.
I am not going to spend this letter telling Anthony how he should do his job. I will leave that to experts like Richard Hinchcliff, whose letter on May 9 outlined with great detail that Anthony lacks the experience to be our next district attorney, and in many of his campaign promises, shows he doesn’t even have a clear understanding of what the job is.
The last time we experienced a local campaign with such ridiculous rhetoric from an unqualified candidate, his name was Frank Rivero, and we made him sheriff. Let’s not make a mistake like that again!
I am voting for another person I have known for almost 20 years. I know she has the experience and ability to do the job. That person is Susan Krones.
Susan served our country in the U.S. Army and knows hard work. She treats those without the generational wealth that Mr. Farrington enjoys with equity and she doesn’t put labels on them or discount their worth.
She has a long record of fighting for justice and she will continue to run our District Attorney’s Office with professionalism and class.
Join me in casting your ballot for Susan Krones.
Joey Luiz lives in Kelseyville, California.
