Na Na Na Na Hey Hey....goodbye! The end is near Tim, the end is near!

Oh great. A few of the good 'ol boys club telling us their preference. What a shock. Were not these county clubbers the same people that supported Martin? I suppose he wasn't arrogant flash either.

GEE Whiticare seems again you made the Wrong decision!!!!

Between 1969's and 18Vet's comments and the fact that this topic exists at all typifies and defines the very reason why this County is perceived as corrupt to the core. That is, the perception that a very select few dictate how the Board of Supervisors will cast their votes. I see no benefit for Red County to portend to report on events that occured on this fact finding interview as fact when the rapid fire posts illustrate that they are advocates bent on a desired result.
As for Whiticare, you can ascribe all Walters attacks to him if you like but he isn't "Agent Smith". As for supporters of Hutchens, they are many as they are influential if you have the time to see for yourelf

Uh oh, I better duck and cover! A "Jury" of Lincoln Club members - all men I bet- has decided on Walters over Sandra Hutchins - like that's a surprise... I guess that means Pat Bates and Janet Nguyen must bow down and comply now because the men have spoken...I wonder what the ladies think of that?

The same group who blindly stood by Carona is now blindly standing by Walters without so much as verifying anything about the man. Apparently, they haven't learned their lesson yet and don't really care to know any indepth details before endorsing a Carona supporter to appointment as interim Sheriff.

Well, it seems the BOS has a choice to make: They can listen to the well-heeled, highly successful, influential dozen - none of which live in Santa Ana nor probably ever go there except for offical business once in a while. And, none of which have ever spent more than a few minutes here or there at a mixer with Paul Walters (except for this 30 minute "marathon" session they just had with him). Or, they can take heed to a single father who doesn't have anything to offer them in the way of financial contributions but has the courage of his convictions and has lived in Santa Ana for 27 years - most of them politically active both in the city and now, most recently, re-elected to serve his 6th term on the OCGOP Central Committee, which means he is better versed than most on Santa Ana's Elected Official and Executive Management Team.

I have cautioned the BOS to beware of appointing Paul Walters and I have encouraged them to thoroughly investigate both his tenure as Chief of Police in Santa Ana and his backroom ties to others in the County - most notably Carona and those who have supported him. I can do no more than that.

Article II of the California State Constitution says, "Political power is an inherent right of the people..." I know for a fact the vote of 12 Lincoln Club members DOES NOT constitute the collective desires of "the people" of Orange County towards the elective office of Sheriff.

I know and respect Buck Johns greatly and since immitation is the highest form of flattery, allow me to use his quote with some modifications to put forth my own pithy comment in closing:

"Last time, the Lincoln Club didn't listen to Bill Hunt or me", regarding Mike Carona. "And they're still reeling from that stupidity. I hope and pray they don't make a similar mistake again with a Chief of Police who compromised his professional law enforcement integrity buy endorsing and supporting Carona in exchange for special hiring privleges of his son. Sadly, that's just one of the reasons not to support Paul Walters for appointment to Sheriff."

Semper Fidelis,

Tim Whitacre

It is not Flash! - It is the Cuture Thing, Stupid!

The leading OC Sheriff candidates agree that the OC Sheriff’s Department needs an organizational culture makeover, the OC District Attorney finds the current OCSD’s culture lacking, the Orange County Board of Supervisors demand changes to the OC Sheriff’s Department’s organizational culture, and the President of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Wayne Quint agree that a culture change is required.

So what exactly is organizational culture? Organizational culture can be viewed as the basic pattern of shared assumptions, values, and beliefs governing the way employees within an organization think about and act on problems and opportunities. Organizational culture is a deeply embedded form of social control, is the social glue that bonds people together and makes them feel part of the organizational experience and helps employees make sense of the workplace. Observable symbols and signs of an organization's culture include organizational stories and legends, rituals and ceremonies, language, physical structures and symbols. For example, in secret grand jury testimony, an Orange County sheriff's detective described a frat- house culture (see OC Register article) in the department, yet most OCSD employees remained silent.

So what is the Orange County DA doing about it – apparently there is little the DA can legally do.

A review of the process being used by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to hire a new Sheriff indicates the process is severely flawed and may explain why two current OC Sheriff insiders involved in mud-wrestling made the final cut. ” The Board has seen all applications/resumes submitted for the position and chose to endorse the list of nine recommended candidates. The decision for appointing a Sheriff is entirely up to the Board to make”, reads a statement we received from the County’s Executive Office, as we noted the flaws in the process. In other words, do not expect the OCSD’s culture to change as a result of the supervisors’ actions.

In a KOCE interview Monday, May 19, 2008 titled “Deputies Under Fire”, Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs president Sgt. Wayne Quint is asked: “Scandals in the jail, Grand Jury criticism, the supervisors, the media, controversies over pay & benefits. Sheriff Deputies are under fire. What do they have to say? Quint agrees that a culture change in the department is needed, “but it starts at the top”, he says in the interview. Quint denies there is a code of silence in the department, but does not explain why no one stood up to demand a culture change. During the interview he states a belief in personal accountability, but assumes no responsibility for the current state of affairs.

The message heard loud and clear from the Orange County Board of Supervisors to the District Attorney to the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs is that the OCSD is in dire need of a makeover – is it not their job to do it.

The OCSD Heal Thyself Fallacy

Those who promote the notion that the OCSD can heal thyself internally are naïve, clueless or for political expediency, saying what people want to hear.

The fact of the matter is that the OCSD culture is like a cancer that requires major surgery.

The translation of the “heal thyself” chant is: “As long what happens in the OCSD stays in the OCSD, then it can heal thyself” – certainly not what OC needs – Wit what is happening to the so-called Republican Brand.

Will someone please give Whitacre a box of Kleenex? Looks like his crying will never end.

Looks like the lone Marine is doing circles around the Lincoln club and the establishment types with his voice of reason- again! Keep it up Tim, your comments are right on target!

Running circles around who? Tim's continued support of Hunt hasn't helped him one iota. In order to be taken seriously Tim needs to tone down his rhetoric and look for ways to find common ground. It's not always an all or nothing prospect. And if it is, he's failed miserably.

Say What?,

What you call, "rhetoric," I call a consistent theme of expecting ethical behavior out of all Elected Officials - ESPECIALLY Republican leaders-what a concept, huh?. I think a lot of people agree with me and are fed up with the way the Republican Party is being run. Obviously the flight of registered voters to other Parties supports that.

The "common ground" YOU refer to is for the majority of Republicans to keep looking the other way while allowing a small minority within the County to call the shots. I think my call for ethical governance is a great common ground for all Republicans to meet on. Do you have a problem with that?

You say, "It's not always an all or nothing prospect." Yes it is for the small minority who are always pushing their agenda and their candidates down the throats of the rest of us - ethical issues be damned. I refuse to stick my head in the sand while someone like a Mike Carona or Paul Walters seeks out the highest law enforcement position in the County when they are CLEARLY ethically challenged and unfit to be in that position. I WAS RIGHT about Carona; I'M RIGHT about Walters.

I will NEVER vote to sacrafice the reputation and platform of the Republican Party for the sake of any one man or woman. You better belive I have drawn a line in the sand regarding Paul Walters being appointed and I will give no quarter based on what I know; who he's contected to; and what I have witnessed first hand.

Semper Fi,

Tim

If you accept the premise - as the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the OCDA and all the leading Sheriff candidates have – that the OCSD’s culture is in dire need of an extreme makeover, then it is disingenuous to suggest that an insider who has had a hand at creating the current culture is the person to lead the charge to change it.

That is, you cannot be part of the solution when you have been part of the problem.

The board of supervisors, aided and abetted by special interest groups, either because of lack of vision, lack of leadership, lack of intestinal fortitude or a combination thereof, missed an Obama Moment – a golden opportunity handed to them with the indictment of Sheriff Carona, to change the cultural landscape in the OCSD.

What is required is a take-charge leader who can go in and sweep all the Palmetto Bugs out of the department.

The Missed OCBOS’s Obama Moment

To provide additional context to the Obama Moment, as in the board of supervisors having missed an Obama Moment – a golden opportunity handed to them with the indictment of Sheriff Carona, to change the cultural landscape in the OCSD – consider the following:

A Review of the criteria used to winnow down the Orange County Sheriff candidate’s indicates that Governor Mit Romney, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, General Colin Powell or captains of industry like Michael Dell, Bill Gates or Steve Jobs would not make the first cut. Initial interviews were conducted by Bob Murray and Associates (BMA) Vice President, Regan William. William’s claim to fame is having served as Director of Public Safety with the City of Sunnyvale, CA. - to put it in context, the City of Sunnyvale had a population of 131,760, according to the 2000 Census, whereas the County of Orange had a population of 2,846, 289, according to the same census. Refer to BMA’s website for “current searches” for additional comparisons - Sort of like the human resources secretary being asked to interview a candidate to replace the CEO!

Tim, It is evident that you're in this more for your benefit than anything. You've been a gadfly, now you're trying to usurp established power brokers in quest to become king maker. Your endeavor night not necessarily be pernicious; the animal of politics has been cursed with temptations of sleeping in different cages. But your Achilles' heel is your abrasive personality. Tact and finesse should be your guides, not primal instincts.

I am pretty sure you've come to realize Hunt was never going to fulfill his dream. I can't fault a man for following his dream. But that does not imply that I can't fault others for denying reality. Sure, Carona was what his agency sought to prevent. He is nothing more than a criminal. But the wise should have pursued the viable in the '06 election. Instead of forcing Hunt down the throats of the wise, maybe you ought to have considered the goal (ousting Carona) and sought the ideal (one who could win).

At the risk of being branded a heretic, I believe it to be beneficial to the sheriff's office to become infused with blood from without. Gates caused stagnation. He managed by intimidation. He promoted those in the prostrate. He refused to modernize. He feared technology. He was guided by Nineteenth century romance. If John Wayne quelled the west with a Peacemaker then such a relic was good enough for his deputies. Gates' ineptitude facilitated Carona. He destroyed good men whom he feared threatened his status as sheriff.

Station 31 has been in the vanguard of OC law enforcement. While I thought Davis a panderer, it had modern equipment. Its officers were well trained, more so than 18 deputies. Station 31 officers were far more knowledgeable than 18 deputies. Station 31 was aggressive and proactive, we were timid and reactive. Never once did I hear a Station 31 officer exclaim that subsequent review by a DDA would influence his/her decisions. If probable cause for arrest was present, the dirtbag went to jail. Within Station 18, deputies were prevented from pursuing law enforcement because of poorly educated supervisors and managers who trammeled professional law enforcement.

Station 18 always talked the talk about being the best agency in the county, but the reality was officers from other agencies used to ridicule us. I know as factual felons being released in the field because of ignorant supervisors who were directed by moronic managers. I have never, ever heard of a city cop releasing a felon in the field then awaiting whether the DA might file.

So I enthusiastically await Walters appointment to 1800. I am completely confident he'll elevate the quality of deputies and elevate the status among the county's law enforcement professionals. Tim, I hope you're not so consumed with your agenda to prevent Station 18 from experiencing the positive change that it desperately needs.

BTW, I will be amazed if Hunt prevails in his lawsuit. And I was not amazed to have learned that he scored lowest of 1800 candidates.

Musing is 10-7

COTOBLOGZZ,

Your: "That is, you cannot be part of the solution when you have been part of the problem." is logical fallacy. While I do concur that the sheriff's office does need an infusion of outside blood, I am also confident that there are many from within who would be stellar as sheriff.

M

The statement "That is, you cannot be part of the solution when you have been part of the problem." and the “ there are qualified personnel in the OCSD” are not mutually exclusive.

If you view my statement in the greater context, you would understand that it is directed at those in leadership position at the OCSD active in Mud wrestling. If you still think it is a logical fallacy, we may need to bring in the Big Aristotle (Shawq) to tutor you a bit.

Here we go again. One department is better than another. The only issue the Sups have to confront is who is the most qualified. The simple answer is Hutchins. The continued bashing of Hunt is so faux pas.

COTOBLOGZZ,

M'man, I need no tutoring in syllogism. As you wrote it, it is fallacy. Now if desire to modify it with clarification, it might come into comportment with Aristotelian logic.

Shall I Venn it for you???

M

ANONYMOUS: You obviously missed the point

On the other hand, goot to see your are a logician - so go ahead and VENN it AND Common Sense it.

COTOBLOGZZ,

That is my point, that you're point was fallacy. You have attempted to throw scientific weight behind your opinion. Now if you had clearly stated your OPINION, which I believe to be that you want the next sheriff to come from without, you'd have been far ahead of the game. But to declare that one whom you assume might have been, "...part of the problem," is therefore not capable of effecting solution is illogical.

Pedantically yours,

M

My point is that what you are serving is a good dose of red herrings and an abundance of vacuous alternatives. For what purpose, I do not know.

Perhaps it is a good indication of what the County Leadership endures and why the board failed to seize the Obama Moment – lack of common sense.

So, in terms you can understand: If you are in a leadership position within the OCSD and have failed to stand up for integrity and transparency, you should not seek to be a change agent – that is my belief and I approve this message.

I don't know any of the "select" few at the Lincoln club but I have seen those they have supported in then past including our indicted former sheriff and I wouldn't bank the future of the OCSD on what these "select" few recommend.