Postmus will be reluctant to do anything negative towards Aleman at this sensitive time. Just imagine the kind of favor Aleman could offer Postmus in return.

Interesting concept . . . knowing how incestuous all of these politicos are, and I'm not referring to their sex lives, with all the dirt they know about one another I can't see a deal being cut where one or two goes down for good without singing like a canary. It seems like it is no longer about the Republican Party in this county, but rather about the individual.

Postmus and Aleman should just get married!

As a married couple, they would benefit from the recent changes in California's marriage laws and would not be required to testify against each other.

The law of unintended consequences is a biatch! But I digress...

I worked for Bill Postmus and Adam and i will tell you that Bill will not let Adam fall, why they know to much about each other and the fact is that Adam is nothing more than uneducated person that was given the position for his loyalty to Bill. I wouldn't be surprised if Adam is taking a fall in some way for his boss Bill. Adam is nothing more than a lapdog just as much as the new supervisor of the 1st district and others that are close to the assessor.

This is going to get better as the court just ordered that the search warrants and other court docs be unsealed and made available to the public.

Also ... where is some analysis and commentary by our SB blogette, Jessica?

If prompt action isn't taken, including the resignation of Bill Postmus, the local Republican Party may be irreparably damaged by these unfolding scandals.

One of the first things Supervisor-Elect Neil Derry needs to do is demand that Postmus resigns. Postmus is one again turning San Bernardino County into joke. One can only assume that what was destroyed on those computers were a trail of cash connected to lowered property taxes. Postmus has taken the Assessor's Office and turned it into a whore house ( and those were well choosen words).

I wouldn't count on Derry calling for Postmus to resign.

Those laughably crude negative mailers used in Derry's campaign were obviously done in the same shop that created Postmus's mailers.

"Dennis" (and anyone else who is curious):

To answer your question, I will not be commenting nor offering analysis on this particular situation, at least for the time being. As a current County employee working for a County elected official, I do not feel it is appropriate for me to be offering commentary on this sensitive issue at this time.

However, myself and the Blogpen will continue to post the latest and most up-to-date news we receive from various insiders.

As Scott Graves mentioned in his post, many of the people on the blogpen are past or present County employees. They, too, may be reluctant to provide commentary for reasons similar to mine.

Thank you for your understanding. I hope you will continue to read Red County for the latest political news and insight.

Jessica
Editor, Red County San Bernardino

I'm promted to recall when another man was judged tried & hanged on a tree.Lets wait for undisputed facts before we come to a conclusion!

SB Insider: The computer that was destroyed was a BOS laptop, not an Assessor laptop. It wouldn't have any property tax assessment data on it.

Just one question. If our current Republican leaders are so interested in "transparency," when are they going to release the results of the Central Committee audit. My understanding is that Postmus' expeditures were a cause of that audit.

I've only heard one side of that issue, so I'd be interested in hearing the other side and viewing the results.

The featured bloggers and Jessica are doing a great job keeping us current on this subject. But wow, some of you commenter’s are seriously cold individuals. I can only assume you revel in the misery of those involved in this turmoil so you can justify your own messed up lives. People in glass houses should not throw stones.

Love them or hate them the people involved in this mess are human beings and the lives being torn apart because of their carelessness, and yes, alleged criminal activity, go well beyond just the Assessor and his immediate staff. Give it a break (if you can manage to dismount from your high horses and take you victim mantles off because I'm sure you've been so wronged). The law will ultimately decide their fate and as far as the Assessor goes, his office is functioning amazingly well despite the drama. I give him and his awesome staff credit for that.

Red County Reader....

You have a valid point. We should not forget that the individuals involved in this are human beings. No one should ever take pride in someone else's misery. Furthermore, the Assessor's Office has done a great job of dealing with day-to-day functions considering the current situation. I do feel bad for those employees whose office has turned into a circus.

And yes, the blogpen is doing an outstanding job of keeping us updated and are being very professional in their approach to handling this stuff.

Someone should look into the taxes at the Green Tree. I heard they were lowered. Interesting since Postmus hangs out there.

Sharon, I asked one of the central committee members about maybe releasing the audit when you asked the question on the thread. When my other acquaintance asked for monetary support from the committee they said they were flat out broke to offer for their campaign.

I agree if we hear both sides of the story, we could make up our minds up objectively. So many things are happening where I feel like I should not comment for at least a week so things could settle down.

Jessica Austin has done a great job with Rd County San Bernardino, since becoming editor. A lot of the bloggers probably have a professional relationship or maybe just a passing friendship with
Mr. Aleman. As this story continues to develop daily, the bloggers are doing the right thing. Posting links to the news coverage. they are not covering this up and pretending that nothing has happened. In regards to Mr. Aleman and because of his connection to him, Supervisor Postmus, it is important to remember the most important fact, that is extremely relevant consider it is almost Independence Day.

A person is innocent until proven guilty.

I think Biane's suggestion, as presented in the Sun, of a charter amendment that would give the supervisors final say on the hiring of any board staff members is ill-advised. I will preface my comments by stating that I thought it was originally reported that supervisors' personal staffs would not be affected; however, the current article does not say that.

So, based on the what is reported in the current article, my first response is that Biane is trying to neutralize Derry's win and possibly prevent Jim Erwin from having a position on Derry's staff if that is in fact Neil's intention. In the grander scheme, I think this proposed amendment would do more harm than good.

It is important that an elected official have a certain amount discretion in hiring employees that are loyal only to him/her without having to get the approval of other elected officials. We've witnessed several instances in recent years where there have been issues between staffs of various board members or between board staff members and the CAO. Staff should not have to fear being removed because they go up against an opposing staff member who may be able to count to four. It seems to me the unintended consequence could be less ethics, not more.

I would support a charter amendment that required elected officials and their staffs to meet certain eligibility requirements before being allowed to run for office or being appointed. The current situation at the Assessor's Office is an excellent example. An assessor should be qualified before he runs for office rather than be allowed to get licensure after the fact. A sheriff should be POST-certified; a district attorney should have so many years of experience and good standing with the State Bar, etc. (I haven't checked to see if any of these requirements are in fact in place but am simply using them as an example.)

On the other hand, I would go so far as to say I feel that members of the BOS should have to meet minimum educational requirements as should their staffs. When one looks at the complexity of the issues they deal with on a day-to-day basis, a high school diploma (and there have been some in the past that did not have that) is not sufficient. Once it is determined that a candidate or their proposed staff member meets minimum education/experience/licensure requirements and has no criminal history, then no other elected official should have the right to prevent them from running for office, being appointed to a support position, or remaining in that position. At that point it should be the sole discretion of the supervisor for whom they work. Anything less will be politics as usual.