State Corrections Director Resigns for ‘Personal Reasons’

Edward Alameida Jr., the embattled director of the California Department of Corrections, resigned Thursday after two years heading the largest state prison system in the nation.

Alameida cited “personal reasons” for his resignation during a meeting Thursday with Roderick Q. Hickman, the newly appointed secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency.

“This was his own choice,” said Tip Kindel, acting assistant secretary for external affairs for the agency. “It was something that was not expected. And it was not something that he was asked to do.”

But pressure was building on him to leave. Critics accused Alameida of blocking investigations into allegedly abusive guards and allowing the powerful corrections officers union to dictate policy.

After testifying in a federal court proceeding in San Francisco three weeks ago, Alameida told a Times reporter that he hoped to remain on the job in the new administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“In fact, I’m looking forward to staying in the job,” he said in November.

Alameida, 54, spent his adult life working his way up through the ranks of the state Department of Corrections, beginning in the accounting office of Folsom State Prison in 1973. He became director in September 2001, overseeing 33 prisons, 160,000 inmates and almost 50,000 prison officers.

Some legislators had called for his resignation.

“I do think it was overdue,” Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) said Thursday. “It was wise. More than anything, it is a new administration and I think it is time to bring changes.”

Added Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough), who along with Romero has been holding hearings into prison management problems: “In my conversations with the governor, he expressed an interest in trying to shape up the department, which I applaud. And Edward Alameida has been a defender of the status quo.”

In the 1990s, policy in the Corrections Department permitted officers to shoot inmates who engaged in fistfights in prison yards. As a result, 39 prisoners were fatally shot, more than in the rest of the nation’s prison systems combined during that time.

Such incidents are rare now. But problems remain in the department. Earlier this year, the department disclosed that it was overspending its $5-billion annual budget this year by more than $500 million.

In addition, audits over the years have shown that the department has been unable to control costs related to officers’ sick leave and overtime.

Perhaps most damaging, internal affairs investigators and their attorneys have alleged that Alameida, at the behest of the union that represents prison officers, thwarted investigations into wrongdoing by guards -- charges that Alameida and the union have denied.

On Thursday, Lance Corcoran, executive vice president of the union, said he was not surprised by the director’s decision to quit, given the “lurid tales” about the internal affairs investigations.

“I know he wanted accountability,” Corcoran said. “I know cost overruns were very frustrating. We had our fights. But I know he put his heart into it. I think he probably was somewhat relieved.”

Alameida’s rise began in the administration of Gov. Pete Wilson, who appointed him warden of Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy. Under Gov. Gray Davis, he became director. In that position, he made Hickman one of his chief deputies, overseeing field operations. It was Hickman, as the agency secretary, who accepted Alameida’s resignation.

Kindel said Hickman “expressed his appreciation for Mr. Alameida’s professionalism and thanked him for his years of dedicated public service in the Department of Corrections.”

Alameida’s resignation will be effective Jan. 5. The governor appoints the head of the prison system.

No replacement has been announced.