O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens thinks she is going to be reelected

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Admin
– March 26, 2009Posted in: "The OC", Fresh Juice, mike carona, O.C. sheriff, OC GOP, Republican Party, Sandra Hutchens

The OC Weekly posted a video showing what O.C. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ deputy spied on at an O.C. Board of Supervisors meeting

Scott Moxley is not someone politicians should mess with.  It took him years but he eventually played a big role in bringing down the jail-bound former O.C. Sheriff, Mike Carona.  In this week’s edition of the OC Weekly Moxley visited with Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens and she ended up acting quite brittle and catty towards him.  Ill-advised!

Moxley wrote a great article that summed up Hutchens rather well.  She comes off appearing arrogant, out of touch, and, as I noted, brittle and guarded.

Check out this excerpt, that clearly illustrates Hutchens’ growing paranoia regarding our local media:

Later in our conversation, she tells me that she agrees that journalists “have to hold us [cops] accountable,” a hollow phrase when uttered by Carona. She does have some criticism for local media, however. She explains that The Orange County Register too often mixes news reporting with “its political ideology.” She believes that by downplaying or ignoring her accomplishments, the paper hasn’t always given her a fair shake. When I push for details, she pauses, mentions that they refused to publish a letter from her (an accusation that, I later learned, was mistaken), laughs and says, “Look, like cops, there are some bad reporters.”

Hutchens did however gamely rip into her predecessor and his goons:

“I thought it was pretty sad what was going on,” says Hutchens, who watched the events in retirement from a senior position at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. “But look at the previous sheriff and his two assistant sheriffs, Mr. [George] Jaramillo and Mr. [Don] Haidl. Carona worked in the courts [as a longtime county bailiff], not in the jails or on patrol. Jaramillo had been a police lieutenant for a day before he became assistant sheriff, and Haidl had no law-enforcement background. I don’t think any of us should be surprised by what happened, given all of that.”

Supervisor Chris Norby has already had it with Hutchens, as evidenced in this excerpt:

But that enthusiasm evaporated quickly last year. Asked twice what he now thinks she’s accomplished, Norby pauses each time and says he can’t name a single item. He also finds her to be thin-skinned. He goes on to tell me that Hutchens, who used to visit him early in her appointment, stopped the practice after his public criticisms. He recalls, “I haven’t seen her in my office in months.” They communicate either through a lower-ranking sheriff’s official or not at all.

Hutchens also addressed the growing scandal regarding her desire to cancel the Concealed Weapons Permits that Carona handed out:

“The CCW area is such a small part of what I do, but it’s been a lightning rod for some people,” she says. “It’s been a distraction to what I’m trying to accomplish in the department, and that’s been hard.”

I think that a lot of folks probably have good reason to use concealed weapons.  But I have no problem with taking these permits away from Carona’s friends and donors, and other GOP hacks like Mike Schroeder and Adam Probolsky.

Hutchen’s biggest problem may well be “what Norby calls the “Supe Snoop” scandal.”  The OC Weekly provided a link to a YouTube video depicting what Hutchen’s deputy filmed when he snooped on Norby and Supervisor Janet Nguyen during a Board of Supervisors meeting.  Heads should have rolled for that fiasco, but Hutchens stood by her men.  I posted the video above this post so you can see for yourself what happened.

Hutchens got the final word:

“I’m not going to change my positions to get elected,” says Hutchens. “I’m going to do the right thing. I am seeking support from Democrats, Republicans and independents. I’m the sheriff first and a politician second, and I think I’m going to get elected.”

I think she is toast.  She hired hack GOP consultant Dave Gilliard, who is known for running anti-Mexican campaigns.  And she should have treated Moxley better.  Some folks never learn…

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"Admin" is just editors Vern Nelson, Greg Diamond, or Ryan Cantor sharing something that they mostly didn't write themselves, but think you should see. Before December 2010, "Admin" may have been former blog owner Art Pedroza.