River City Hall: Are we having fun yet?

"One of the hallmarks of a good leader is the ability of the organization to thrive after he is gone."


----Grace Slocum, former Trustee, Riverside Community College in a letter to the Press Enterprise Readers' Forum on Oct. 6.





Press Enterprise Columnist Dan Bernstein is at it again in his most recent assessment of Election 2007.


(excerpt)



Local races heating up. A sampling of recent Campaign Stretchers:

Riverside Councilman Dom Betro said downtown was in bad shape when he took office in 2004.

"It was on the verge of collapse."

Collapse? Not really. Geologists now have conclusive evidence that Mt. Rubidoux is no longer an active volcano.

Riverside Councilman Art Gage raised some legit questions about his opponent in a semi-underhanded mailer. Among them: How had Rusty Bailey, "an officer in the Army Reserve -- avoided" the war? (Prior to his April discharge from the reserves, Bailey says he served in the 111K-strong Individual Ready Reserves, of which just 8,000 had been called to active duty.)

The same mailer whispered, "Did a member of Congress or a friend in the White House help keep Rusty out of the war?"

Gage later said, "I'm not accusing him of shirking anything..."

And I'm not accusing anyone of setting Art's pants on fire.





The city of Riverside's Web site provided an update about the representation on the city's boards and commissions. What follows is hardly titilating but it's important information that the city may or may not want you to know depending on whether its representatives are busy politicizing a commission or two.

Selection processes for the city's boards and commissions differ depending on which board or commission undergoes the process and what time of year the appointments are filled. Prospective applicants can fill out applications and submit them to the city usually by November to be eligible for positions coming up the following March.

Each March, all of the vacancies are filled in all the city's boards and commissions through sending applications through the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Commission where they are screened by Mayor Ron Loveridge and the members of the Governmental Affairs Committee in terms of which applicants will be eligible for interviews with the entire city council. After the interviews are conducted, the entire city council and the mayor votes for their selections by filling out slips of paper with their choices and then forwarding them to Loveridge who reads them out loud and tallies the votes.


This is fun to watch. They'll argue strongly against a candidate one day then vote for that person the next, which does make one wonder what takes place behind the scenes between selection processes. The other thing that often happens is that they'll gush over someone who actually spent the 10 minute interview period saying absolutely nothing. Yes, it's actually true that one of the current commissioners on the Community Police Review Commission received the most votes through two rounds of voting with the highlight of his interview being that he lamented the loss of his parking privileges as a long-time member of another boad after terming out several weeks earlier.

In fact in that particular round, two of them, both members of the BASS quartet, actually tried to push their favorites by requiring that commissioners chosen to fill spots on the CPRC have had prior board and commission experience in order "to hit the ground running" due to the commission's "current situation", meaning its ongoing problems which by the way, Ward One councilman, Dom Betro plays a larger role in instigating than his rival, former CPRC chair, Mike Gardner who after all, has very little influence on the current city manager and city attorney.

Last time I checked, it was the city council who hired, evaluated and fired their own direct employees, wasn't it?

Unfortunately for Loveridge who chairs this screening committee, it's like pulling teeth to get the councilmen(and a woman on this committee at this juncture, bite your tongue! That's so 20th Century.) on the committee to actually pick city residents to interview because some say, the appointments are pretty much decided before the screening process and that it's merely a formality to be survived before hitting the lunch buffet.

Here's how it most often goes. Except for Loveridge, there are no names because he's the only one who's been on the committee for a long time. Everyone else comes and goes with the political tides. The names have changed but the process pretty much remains the same.





Setting: Loveridge's rather spacious office



Loveridge: [reads out a name on an application] How about so-and so?

*pin dropping on the floor*


Councilman #1: Nah, I say we pick [insert name of political appointment] and take it back to the full council. We've already done this enough times.

Loveridge: No, we have to go through these applications.

Councilman #1 and #2 who are now joined at the hip: (sighing loudly and in unison)

Councilman #2: I think these are all old applications. Didn't we interview [so and so] already?

Loveridge: I don't remember. Where's Councilman[so and so, formerly joined at the hip before the new school year]?

Councilman#2: I don't know. I gave him a call on his cell but he's not answering.

Councilman #1: This is ridiculous. Why don't we just push [so and so] forward? We've done this already. (looks at watch, while rolling eyes) I say we just go forward and nominate [such and such].. There's really no reason for further discussion.

Loveridge: Let's start with this one...He's got a lot of community experience. He also has a great block party every year.

Councilman #1 and #2: (sighing in perfect unison)

Loveridge: Okay...let's move on to the next one. He's got a Ph.D in [insert academic discipline]. I think we should interview him.

Councilman #1 and #2 (shrug in unison)

Loveridge: Is that a yes or a no for [insert name of another poor city resident without political connections]?

Councilman #1: This is so unnecessary. Why don't we...

Councilman #2: I'm with him. Why don't we just submit [insert name of person]? Yes, I know what I said during the last round but a bolt of lightning hit me and I've changed... I've seen the light. [Okay, maybe the bible's not been invoked yet but it's been close. Substitute the lightning bolt for some good old-fashioned city council lobbying and negotiating.]

Loveridge: Okay, okay, we'll add [insert name of city resident who has no chance of appointment].

Councilman #3: (rushing in) I'm sorry I'm late. I think I've got the perfect candidate. (looks at Councilman #1 and #2) and oh, I'm with them.

Loveridge: Wait, do you even know who they've picked?

(Councilman #3 looks perplexed)



Councilman #3: I thought we decided this at the last Governmental Affairs Committee(wrong answer). Are we starting all over again?





Okay, here's the number one cavaet that can keep you off the interview list. You can't really be a critic of the city, let alone criticize the city council at its meetings. And getting "escorted" out by a police officer or two no matter what your age is, is probably an automatic disqualifier. Just something to conside when you are padding your resume to become a future commissioner.





Loveridge: What about [so and so who criticizes the city council]?



Councilman #3: No, too political. We can't put anyone on the boards and commissions who is too political.




Of course, if it's someone they like, the following might happen.



Councilman #2: What do you mean it's political? We're politicians(or elected officials). There's no way this process isn't going to be political.



This curious but captivating screening process applies for both at-large or city-wide and ward-designated appointments with some variation.






Loveridge: Okay, how many people are from [insert ward]?



Councilman #2: It's so hard to find people in some of these wards. I know I've said this before, Mayor, but I think passing Measure GG was the worst thing that's ever happened. It's been a disaster.



Maybe it's the second worst thing, if it's true that several city council members cried in their beers and steaks after the passage of Measure II that same year. A win for those who advocated for civilian ovesight that was blamed on Councilman Art Gage and might have been the beginning of the end of his membership in the cool club on campus, what used to be the GASS quartet.


If there are resignations in mid-term by commissioners as has been the case with several boards and commissions because of internal manipulation, the "greener pasture" syndrome and other reasons, then for ward-specific positions, the involved council member and mayor agree on an appointment or the council member can appoint a person from their ward as long as it is done within 60 days. City-wide vacancies are filled by the mayor and if there are no vacancies, well that's another posting or two.



This is the process for all of the city's boards and commissions except for three of them which are the Planning Commission, Board of Public Utilities and the Community Police Review Commission. These are as Councilman Frank Schiavone said, the "special" commissions. Read, the politicized ones. Their appointments are filled by an interview and voting process by the mayor and city council, similar to what is done annually for all boards and commissions.



Councilman #2: I had no idea [so and so] had received money from [such and such]. Councilman #1 never told me. If Councilman #4 told you, don't listen to him, he's a liar.

Councilman #3: Uh, [such and such] works for a company that has a contract with the city. (pauses for a while) I didn't know that. Why didn't I know that?



The CPRC is so "special" that for the first time, okay second time, a commissioner was apparently the target of an attempt by several elected officials and other individuals to oust him for of all things, mental competency. The three individuals who complained about his so-called incompetency were all people who didn't attend any CPRC meetings or if so, only briefly.

Only the guy was as sharp as a tack so clearly either that didn't fly or those involved were concerned about how it would make them look. So the next thing they did was arrange to have meetings with this guy to tell him to "tone it down" or be expelled. He even alleged that a city council member had threatened him with expulsion at least twice.

This guy was doing such outrageous things as trying to get an item put on a meeting agenda to talk about hiring an independent counsel for the body. Obviously a threat to the order of this "special" commission.

Let's just say that when a city council member says that he's really working hard on appointments, he really means that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to work at something but if you use tactics like this, then no matter what your intentions may be, you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.


There's never a dull moment in this process from beginning to end, but it's not user friendly and could be a little less rife with this philosophy that especially for several "special" boards and commissions, people have to pay their dues. These are mechanisms for civic service, not boards of directors for major corporations. People who apply, should have a reasonable expectation of an opportunity to serve, yet the current selection process makes it difficult to be considered unless you have friends at City Hall. It's hard to stamp cronyism out of City Hall but it certainly has no place in the city's boards and commissions process.

A list of members and regular meeting times for both the Mayor's Nomination and Screening Committee and the Governmental Affairs Committee is here. They are both at times when people probably won't be able to attend. The first committee involves the selection process. The second, is the forum for criteria that may fine tune the qualifications for those who can serve or more importantly, those who can't.



The passage of Measure GG(an incident cursed many a time), which mandated that at least one commissioner from each ward be present on a board or commission had some influence on the distribution of applicants and commissioners with an increase seen for Wards Five, Six and Seven.


Councilman #2: I know I said this before, Mayor, but Measure GG is a really bad thing but the voters passed it so we got to do it.



It has shifted away the emphasis on appointing Ward One and Ward Four applicants, but for some of the boards and commissions, not much. Its impact on the ethnic, racial and gender composition on the city's boards and commissions is not known because city officials and employees swear that they don't keep records of this information and have no idea. However, the number of Black commissioners is fairly low across the board and considering that Latinos will some day be the majority population in Riverside, their numbers make it clear that they are underrepresented as well. It's harder to recommend applying to boards and commissions to these individuals or to anyone until there's a process that is more of what applicants bring with them including time, passion and commitment and not who you know or align yourself with at City Hall.

When people who are thinking about applying to serve on the city's boards and commissions ask how realistic their chances are, what can you say? For some of the boards and commissions in particular, it's just not pretty.




Currently, there are 127 city residents serving on 13 boards and commissions, with six vacancies.


Ward-specific vacancies are one representing the Fifth Ward on the Commission on Disabilities and one representing the Sixth Ward on the Metropolitan Museum Board. For both of these commissions, Mayor Ron Loveridge makes the appointments if they aren't filled by the council member in 60 days. Other commissions including the Commission on Disabilities and the Human Relations Commission have city-wide vacancies.


Overall, ward representation on the city's boards and commissions is as follows:



Ward One: 17.3%


Heaviest representation: Cultural Heritage Board(40%), CPRC(33.3%)
Least representation: Commission on Disabilities(9.1%)

Ward Two: 11.8%

Heaviest representation: Park and Recreation Commission(20%)
Least representation: Commission on Disabilities(9.1%)

Ward Three: 16.5%

Heaviest representation: Metropolitan Museum Board(33.3%), Park and Recreation(30%)
Least representation: Human Relations Commission(6.7%)

Ward Four: 16.5%

Heaviest representation: Airport Commission(33.3%)
Least representation: Park and Recreation Commission, Cultural Heritage Board(both 10%)

Ward Five: 10.2%

Heaviest representation: Planning Commission(22.2%)
Least representation: Commission on Disabilities(0%)

Ward Six: 10.2%

Heaviest representation: Commission on Disabilities(18.2%)
Least representation: Metropolitan Museum Board(0%)

Ward Seven: 12/6%

Heaviest representation: Human Resources Board, Library Board, Mayor's Commission on Aging(all, 22.2%)

Least representation: Human Relations Commission(6.7%)









The Press Enterprise accused the Riverside County Board of Supervisors of snubbing voters in its decision last week to appoint Stanley Sniff to be the new sheriff in town. It stated that the supervisors viewed holding elections and delivering on public promises, luxuries.


Ouch.


(excerpt)


One of Sniff's challenges, for example, will be to demonstrate to the public his independence from the supervisors who put him in office.

And the nasty politicking that surrounded the appointment process only underscores the need for the legitimacy an election provides. The supervisors chose Sniff after a hearing that presented an ugly mix of hearsay, rumor and unsubstantiated allegations. The weeks preceding Sniff's appointment featured complaints that a sheriff's official misused the county's e-mail system to back one contender. Documents also surfaced purporting to show union leaders, some county supervisors and the district attorney scheming to support another candidate.

A special election would sweep away all those concerns. County officials last month said state law would not allow a vote on the sheriff until 2010, but pledged to seek legislative authorization for an earlier election. The law is not as clear as the county contends, but supervisors' enthusiasm for an election vanished anyway.

Still, the board's disinterest in voters' opinions does not change the basic fact: Riverside County would be better off voting on the sheriff next year instead of three years from now.



After the swearing in last week, people had mixed feelings about the process. Some felt that there needed to be a special election next year rather than waiting until 2010, even if calling for a legal opinion from State Attorney General Jerry Brown was necessary.



The board also provided a recap of all its endorsements for the upcoming elections in November which is very thoughtful. They are well-organized, to the point and compact for individuals to carry them wherever they go.





Why did an off-duty sheriff deputy kill six people in a shooting spree?

That's a question being asked by those investigating the actions of Tyler Peterson, 20, who was employed by two law enforcement agencies but wasn't working when he fired his weapon in a rage at a group of young students at a party.


(excerpt, Associated Press)



David Franz's wife, Marci, said she was awakened by the gunshots.

"I heard probably five or six shots, a short pause and then five or six more," she said. "I wasn't sure if it was gunfire initially. I thought some kids were messing around and hitting a nearby metal building."

Then she heard eight louder shots and tires squealing, she said.

"I was just about to get up and call it in, and I heard sirens," she said. "There's never been a tragedy like this here. There's been individual incidents, but nothing of this magnitude."

Three of the victims were Crandon High School students, said school Superintendent Richard Peters, and the other three had graduated within the past three years.

"There is probably nobody in Crandon who is not affected by this," Peters said, adding that students "are going to wake up in shock and disbelief and a lot of pain."

Peters did not know whether Peterson had graduated from the 300-student school. But Crandon resident Karly Johnson, 16, said that she knew the gunman and that he had helped her in a tech education class.

"He graduated with my brother," she said. "He was nice. He was an average guy. Normal. You wouldn't think he could do that."



The motive for the shooting is not known at this point. Some say that Peterson was jealous of attention given to a girlfriend.

An obvious question also asked was how Peterson could have been hired not just by one but two agencies to be a law enforcement officer. What kind of screening of his background was performed and could it have been done in a way to anticipate that he was capable of committing mass murder.


(excerpt)


"The first statement we said to each other was, 'How did he get through the system?'" Franz said. "How do they know somebody's background, especially that young? It is disturbing, to say the least."



Yes it certainly is, but unfortunately it's true that officers who are hired to protect and serve may themselves commit crimes. Some smaller agencies say they are unable to compete for the top candidates in the recruitment pools and so they wind up hiring officers with previous arrest records and convictions, officers who have been fired from other agencies or didn't "pass" probation. Officers who are even registered sex offenders including officers hired by law enforcement agencies in South Carolina and Alabama.

About one-third of the officers hired including the police chief by the city of Maywood for its own department fell in these groups. In fact, it called itself the "second chance" agency.

Of course, now Maywood's police department is under investigation by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, the FBI and the State Attorney General's office, because just about every bad behavior that can be found in a law enforcement agency has surfaced there, despite attempts by the thin blue line to keep it under wraps.

Sometimes the larger agencies hire officers from these groups as well.


In this updated article, people remained mystified that Peterson was hired as a police officer at such a young age and turned out to be a killer.

Later information revealed that Peterson shot the group of students because he had been rebuffed at the party by an ex-girlfriend and called "worthless pig" by others there.


(excerpt, Associated Press)


A longtime friend told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday that 20-year-old Tyler Peterson came to his door in the hours after the rampage and calmly explained what he had done.

"He wasn't running around crazy or anything. He was very, very sorry for what he did," Mike Kegley told the newspaper, adding that he gave Peterson coffee and food and later called 911.




Still, no one saw it coming. At least that's what those around him are saying publicly. Privately, the conversations might be much different.


(excerpt, Associated Press)


"No person that I've ever known at 20 years old was responsible enough to be a police officer," said Steve Bocek, of Oak Creek, whose nephew Bradley Schultz was killed. "It's unbelievable. You don't have the mind to be a police officer. It takes a lot."

But Crandon city attorney Lindsay Erickson said age doesn't matter as long as officers do their jobs well. Peterson testified for her in several cases. He wrote good reports and was "true to his job," she said.

"From what I saw of him, I didn't see any warning signs or red flags," Erickson said.



That's what many of these agencies say when officers are caught committing crimes. In some cases, it appears to be true. In others, it's clearly not when the officers' histories come to light after a scandal breaks.

In Riverside, California, Police Officer Adam Brown is now serving 495 years for convictions of child molestation both in Riverside and out of state. He was arrested in 2004 by the FBI which had discovered that he was tied with an internet ring of child molesters.


(excerpt, Press Enterprise)


In court, the mother said her son was afraid of Brown, who threatened to harm his family and used his police authority and equipment to intimidate the boy.

The woman said her son was depressed, afraid of the dark and terrified to leave her alone.

"We thought he was suffering because he was fatherless. In fact, he was terrified for his life and the lives of the ones he loved," the mother said, her voice trembling.

The mother said she blamed herself for letting a pedophile into her home.

"He was so polite and respectful to us but there was always an odd nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right," she said.

The woman said her family had to leave Riverside. Far away from Brown, her son started to blossom, making friends, becoming a happy person. His grades improved and through therapy was able to take his life back, she said.

"Our hearts go out to every boy who has been affected by the filth of Adam Brown and what he did to them. We don't know how he had the gall to do this to (my son)."

A court clerk cried when the older brother read the statement from the victim.

"Today my wish and prayer will come true. That is, I will never have to worry about seeing your ugly face again," the older brother said, at times shouting and staring angrily at Brown.

"Your eternal soul will be rotting in hell."



Brown was one of two officers in the Riverside Police Department who faced criminal charges in relation with child molestation several years ago. Former officer, Vince Thomas went to trial twice on child molestation charges but received hung jury verdicts before the case was dismissed. Brown's father had been a sergeant with the police department.


According to an article at San Diego Indymedia, former State Attorney General Bill Lockyer in a speech talked about his experiences with Riverside's police department which by this time, was beginning its five-year consent decree with his office.

He told the audience that the police department wasn't doing any psychological evaluations and that it took 18 months of negotiations to get to the point where they were doing them. About 80% of all states require psychological evaluations for prospective law enforcement officers.

A mental health expert that I encountered about 10 years ago said that a friend of his had been doing them for the Riverside Police Department but he was getting tired of the city overriding decisions he had made cautioning against hiring some of the candidates that he had flagged for potential problems. If those candidates were indeed hired, the fates of them or their performance levels are unknown due to confidentiality laws pertaining to members of their profession.

There were allegations after the arrest and prosecution of former officer, Phillip Graham that despite a poor academy record, he had been hired not so much to be a police officer but to play football on the department's intramural team. He'd been a star gridiron player while at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Elsewhere, there have been problems as well.


An off-duty Pasadena Police Department officer shot another person in a road-rage incident and didn't receive any jail time, just probation and an anger management class.


(excerpt, KHOU News)


A jury found Marcus Justin Kacz guilty of deadly conduct. Visiting Judge Jim Larkin sentenced Kacz to 18 months probation for the misdemeanor. In addition to anger management classes, Kacz was fined $400, ordered to do community service and to undergo random urine tests.

“I think you made a big mistake and showed bad judgment,” Larkin told Kacz.
Prosecutors said Kacz, 26, chased a driver who cut him off. Kacz, who was not in uniform, shot at a passenger in the sport utility vehicle at least three times.

Defense attorney Greg Cagle said Kacz followed the sport utility vehicle because the driver was running red lights and driving dangerously.




Another officer was convicted of two misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm in connection with a "road rage" incident in North Carolina. He was also convicted of following his victim's car too closely.


(excerpt, WSLS News)


19-year-old Destinee Puckett was going south on 81 February 11th when she says Cmeyla tailgated. She says she tapped her brakes to get him to back off but he didn't. She says Cmeyla then pointed a gun at her through his windshield. She says she panicked and hit the brakes. Cmeyla's Volkswagen Jetta then rear-ended her.

Cmeyla got out of his car and tapped his fully loaded 9mm on her windshield. There was a bullet in the chamber and the gun did not have a safety. Puckett was already on the phone with 911. On the 911 tape, Cmeyla can be heard telling the teen, "I could shoot you right now, you know that"? Cmeyla testified he did not remember saying that.

Cmeyla says he overreacted and did not mean to scare anyone. He says he thought the teen was endangering his life.





In Wichita, Kansas, a police officer was convicted of theft according to KAKE news.

Despite his criminal record, Trey Brown was hired to work for another law enforcement agency.


(excerpt)


Police officers are sworn to uphold the law, protect citizens, and serve the public good. But what happens when a cop is convicted as a thief? Our KAKE On Your Side Investigation reveals sometimes it just means a change of scenery.

Cops are suppose to be the good guys, and most officers say if a cop breaks the law, they shouldn't be a cop anymore. One Sedgwick County town says it all depends on the circumstances.

"We were aware a situation had occurred," said Kent Brown, Clearwater City Administrator.

It was more than a situation, it was a crime.

"This is a dirty cop," said Criminal Defense Attorney Les Hulnick.

A crime that was convicted by a jury, and sentenced by a judge.

"It's outrageous to leave somone like that in law enforcement," said Hulnick.

Eight months ago, two things happened. officer Trey Brown left his job at the Wichita Police Department, and he got used to life with a criminal record. Six months later he's hired again to be a cop in Clearwater, but the city council doesn't think it's a big deal to have a convicted thief carrying a gun and a badge.





John Henry 1975-2007