Baca solo?

[Uxi]

Get your Masters and do a year and you have a little less to worry about Baca and his goons ruining your rep?

[bulgron]

I really don't see why someone from outside a county couldn't run against Baca. To make it work, though, you gotta recruit the right candidate and also raise a boat load of cash.

Obviously it isn't going to happen this time around.

[CCWFacts]

I really don't see why someone from outside a county couldn't run against Baca. To make it work, though, you gotta recruit the right candidate and also raise a boat load of cash.

Therein lies the rub. You've got someone on a mid-level cop / deputy salary running against someone who can raise a million dollars a year "selling" CCWs and other permits.

(As a side question, what other permits does the sheriff have authority over? I'm guessing there must be more than just CCWs? Construction, nightclubs, massage businesses, liquor? Those are my guesses at other things that seem heavily regulated at the local level. Does anyone know?)

[yellowfin]

So basically the guy should have somewhere in the ballpark of 300-400 years worth of federal prison for bribery and nobody's willing to get him convicted even though we know he's guilty.

[CCWFacts]

So basically the guy should have somewhere in the ballpark of 300-400 years worth of federal prison for bribery and nobody's willing to get him convicted even though we know he's guilty.

He deserves it, certainly, but... bribery is really hard to prove. It needs to be a very clear "you give me that, I give you this", and it has to provable. Only the foolish and / or arrogant get caught. Governor Blagojevich was caught on tape asking what he was going to get for Obama's senate seat, with references to his wife's income possibilities on corporate boards and so on. This was all on tape. What happened? He ended up with a mistrial. He may yet get convicted or bargain, but you can see that even with the tapes they have of him trying to make a sale, it's still tough to get a conviction.

I assume a guy like Baca is smart enough not to email out a "CCW price list" to potential donors / applicants. It's all unspoken (I would assume). Of course I would love to be wrong and find out that he does, in fact, have a written CCW price list and some how the FBI gets a hold of it, but it seems very unlikely to me.

[bulgron]

Therein lies the rub. You've got someone on a mid-level cop / deputy salary running against someone who can raise a million dollars a year "selling" CCWs and other permits.

(As a side question, what other permits does the sheriff have authority over? I'm guessing there must be more than just CCWs? Construction, nightclubs, massage businesses, liquor? Those are my guesses at other things that seem heavily regulated at the local level. Does anyone know?)

I've always been under the impression that liquor licenses were right up there with CCWs for Sheriff re-election funds.

[CCWFacts]

I've always been under the impression that liquor licenses were right up there with CCWs for Sheriff re-election funds.

Actually now that I think of it, there are tons of local permits that require saying "pretty please": barber shop, adult video, recycling, pawn shop, used car dealer, FFLs, bars, limmo service, many other things. We're all active in the CCW area but I wonder what's going on in some of those other areas. I know there are companies that advertise ability to expedite liquor licenses, and I know that it's often easier and cheaper to buy an existing liquor license than it is to apply for one. I expect Sheriff Baca knows how to work every possible angle.

[sholling]

So basically the guy should have somewhere in the ballpark of 300-400 years worth of federal prison for bribery and nobody's willing to get him convicted even though we know he's guilty.

The key to cleaning up the sewer is three fold. 1) Shall-issue CCW, 2) repeal the Brad Gates Incumbent Sheriff Protection Act, 3) restore the POI clause of the 14th Amendment. Restoring POI restores a right to pursue your profession and eliminates having to beg/pay officials to get them to allow you to operate your business.

[bulgron]

The key to cleaning up the sewer is three fold. 1) Shall-issue CCW, 2) repeal the Brad Gates Incumbent Sheriff Protection Act, 3) restore the POI clause of the 14th Amendment. Restoring POI restores a right to pursue your profession and eliminates having to beg/pay officials to get them to allow you to operate your business.

I don't see #2 happening, short of full-on revolution or splitting the state in two or something like that.

What issue could possibly drive the legislature to repeal that over the objections of people like Baca? I suppose we might be able to do it via the proposition system, but what issue could possibly get voters to vote in favor of it? Remember, most people in CA have very little reason to come in contact with their sheriff, so they don't much care who does the job or how they got the job.

[BigDogatPlay]

I've always been under the impression that liquor licenses were right up there with CCWs for Sheriff re-election funds.

Liquor licenses are directly issued by the state... Alcohol Beverage Control board.

An eligible candidate could be a peace officer in another jurisdiction, but he / she is typically going to need to reside in the county in which they hold elective office. There is still a residency requirement, and skirting it can be..... painful, as former San Fran Supervisor Ed Jew recently found out.

[Uxi]

Proposition would be the best bet for repealing. Publicize a few of the incidents and catch a corrupt Sheriff with his hand in the cookie jar...