Who Will Investigate?
Letter to the editor

The city of Mission Viejo seems to have the eye of those involved in law enforcement once again, and in a way that’s suspect. I am referring to the $100,000-plus campaign donation from the deputies’ union to oppose the recall of Lance MacLean.

Unprecedented expenditures, possibly for politically purposes, involving the OC Sheriff’s Dept., occurred in the November 2000 election. Roger Faubel and Bill Craycraft were running as council incumbents. Faubel lost despite a reported $50,000 in police expenditures, which were not authorized by the City Council. The expense to the city was incurred to protect the incumbents’ campaign signs but not any other candidates’ signs.

The OC Register and other newspapers published editorials on the subject back then, questioning how the OCSD city contract was used to support incumbents, perhaps with an apparent bias in doing so.

Add to the current situation that Sheriff Sandra Hutchinson, a non-elected county official, replaced Jack Anderson as the Interim Sheriff. In my opinion, she dismissed him following her appointment to Sheriff because he was her biggest political threat in her upcoming election. He is a resident of Mission Viejo and a former Commissioner.

Assuming the deputies’ union proceeds with supporting favored politicians in all the cities they contract with, I wonder about that. Just who do we call on to investigate any improper actions regarding conflict of interest issues?

Bo Klein