Challengers seek to unseat controversial Lake County sheriff

GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

When Lake County Sheriff Frank Rivero ran for office four years ago, he promised to crack down on crime and shake up the department, which he said was tainted by racism, cronyism and mismanagement.

He said he's changed the office for the better and dramatically increased drug arrests, good reasons for voters to re-elect him to head the Sheriff's Office, which has a $22 million budget and about 185 employees.

"People trust the Sheriff's Office more. The officers are cordial and well-trained. They're out there working harder," said Rivero, 55.

But his two rivals on the June ballot and other critics say Rivero's behavior during his tumultuous reign has alienated other county officials and law enforcement to the detriment of officer and public safety.

"I've been embarrassed by the state of law enforcement in our county," said candidate Brian Martin, 42, a former sheriff's lieutenant who currently is the county's assistant chief probation officer.

"There's a complete lack of cooperation between the Sheriff's Office" and other law enforcement agencies, he said.

Failure to communicate nearly led to a shootout between Clearlake police and sheriff's narcotics officers, who were operating a raid in the city unbeknownst to its police force, according to one of several investigations conducted into Rivero's actions by District Attorney Don Anderson. Another of Anderson's investigations essentially labeled Rivero a liar.

The department "needs a change in image," said retired Clearlake Police Chief Bob Chalk, 60, who also is running against Rivero.

The three-way contest is seen as a likely prelude to a runoff between two candidates in November.

Rivero's tenure has been dominated by controversy from the beginning. Even before declaring his initial run for sheriff, he appeared on a TV news program, alleging racism within the Sheriff's Office.

Since being elected, he has engaged in battles with the district attorney, other police agencies, his own jail employees, an online news publication and the county Board of Supervisors, which asked him last year to resign.

"There's not one single agency in the county that he can work with," said Supervisor Rob Brown, who was part of a failed effort last year to recall Rivero.

The request for resignation and the recall petition came on the heels of Anderson's concluding Rivero was untruthful about an incident in 2008 in which Rivero, then a deputy, shot at a man holding a can of pepper spray. Anderson said that, as a result, prosecutors must notify criminal defendants in cases where Rivero is a key witness that the sheriff has a history of making false statements.

Rivero has accused Anderson, who endorsed him in 2010, as having a vendetta against him because Rivero criticized the district attorney's handling of an indecent-exposure case.

Following the recall push, Rivero supporters launched their own unsuccessful attempt to recall Brown. Rivero has accused Brown of being part of an "old boy" network he is fighting to overthrow.

Brown said Rivero's battles have cost the county more than $750,000 in legal fees, including $250,000 paid to former employees of the Sheriff's Office.

The attempts to oust Rivero from his post have only fueled his resolve to seek re-election, something he said as recently as 2012 he would not do. He is unapologetic for the upheaval of the past three years.

"I did what I needed to do," Rivero said. "To change a very broken, very unfair, very corrupt system, anybody who's involved in that is going to have controversy."

When he ran for office the first time, the office was mired in the fallout of a fatal nighttime boating accident on Clear Lake that involved the department's chief deputy, Russell Perdock.

Perdock was driving a speedboat that struck a sailboat, killing one of its passengers. There was an uproar in the community when the sailboat's pilot was charged with the death rather than Perdock. The man was acquitted at trial.

The case is widely believed to be responsible for the ouster of Sheriff Rod Mitchell — who lost to Rivero in 2010 after 16 years of running unopposed — along with former District Attorney Jon Hopkins.

The department also was going through some internal upheaval, and several deputies had been recently fired.

Chalk said Rivero was right about change being needed in the department, but that the sheriff's tactics have hurt, not helped.

He and Martin say relationships between the Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies need to be mended to better serve the community and help police do their jobs as safely as possible.

That includes expanding law enforcement agencies' access to one another's computerized information, which Rivero has cut.

Rivero was forced by a court order to reinstate the Lakeport Police Department's access to his computerized system, but other agencies continue to be limited.

That keeps officers from having all the background information available on a person when they make contact, both Martin and Chalk said.

Rivero defended the steps to block access, saying there had been unauthorized use of the system to check on people and information not related to current investigations.

"We have many different job descriptions. One is to protect people's civil liberties," he said.

Rivero also said officers have other ways to get the information they need.

Rivero supporters say the accusations levied against him are unfair and exaggerated.

"I do not think of Sheriff Rivero as a troublemaker. He is a man of principle and conviction who does not give up," Kelseyville resident Joan Moss wrote in a letter to the editor.

Both of Rivero's opponents have a wealth of law enforcement experience that exceed his 13 years, six of them in San Francisco, where he also ran a mortuary business.

Chalk has the most, with 32 years. He began his career with the Lakeport Police Department in 1975. He moved to the newly created Clearlake Police Department in 1981, where he rose to chief in 1993. Chalk retired in 2006.

Martin, son of Lake County Judge Rick Martin, has more than 20 years of law enforcement experience. It includes stints with the U.S. Army's Military Police, Pismo Beach Police Department, Lake County Sheriff's Office, California Department of Justice, Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and Lake County Probation Department.

Chalk said his experience leading a police department is the prime reason people should vote for him.

"It simply goes back to whether you want a person who has more experience. I've done the job for 14 years," he said.

Martin said his law enforcement experience is more current and up-to-date than Chalk's. It also includes plenty of leadership roles, including as a sergeant and lieutenant with the Sheriff's Office, he said.

Of his opponents, Rivero is most critical of Martin, accusing him of being financially irresponsible. Martin and his wife filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy that was resolved in 2010, according to court records.

"If he can't be responsible for his own issues, how can he be responsible for the county's?" Rivero said.

Martin said the bankruptcy was a humbling experience that many people have gone through as a result of the recession and that it gave him insight into the financial struggles many others have faced. It's not reflective of his ability to lead, he said. Martin also noted that the department has a financial manager.

He said he has what Rivero lacks, including leadership qualities, professionalism and honesty.

"You can't believe a lot of what he says," Martin said.

(You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.)

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