O.C. leaders mostly silent about Carona

Orange County’s conservative mandarins, who for years voiced nearly unbridled support for Sheriff Michael S. Carona, were largely silent Tuesday. Only Supervisor John Moorlach issued a clear position -- a call for the county’s top lawman to step down after being indicted on corruption charges by a federal grand jury.

Carona on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing and vowed to stay in office. But some of the county’s most influential Republican politicians provided little public support to the man once considered a darling of the GOP and United States senator material.

On the all-Republican Board of Supervisors, Janet Nguyen, Chris Norby and Pat Bates said they could not comment because they had not read the indictment. But Bates did say that “the indictment was a very stunning surprise to me.”

Supervisor Bill Campbell did not return a call seeking comment.

Scott Baugh, chairman of the Orange County Republican Party, also did not return phone calls.

“People are very clever,” said Fred Smoller, a political science professor at Chapman University. “They are going to put their fingers up to the wind. They are going to see how it plays.”

Only Moorlach, the county supervisor who said Carona was a “friend,” seemed willing to speak about the indictment.

“I know Mike is a man of duty and honor, but I believe it’s time for him to step down,” Moorlach told a reporter. The indictment, he said, was “sad and disturbing news.”

More vocal were Carona’s opponents in the 2006 election, a bitter contest in which charges of corruption within the Sheriff’s Department were leveled. At the time, Carona was being investigated by county, state and federal authorities for then-undisclosed reasons.

Even so, he received a little over 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff with runner-up Bill Hunt, then a lieutenant in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Hunt resigned after Carona demoted him to a patrolman following the election.

Hunt said Tuesday’s indictment was a vindication.

“I’m a human being,” Hunt said. “There is some satisfaction seeing the things I mortgaged my career for were not untrue, but the reality is that this is nothing to gloat over. This is a sad day.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Ralph Martin, who also ran for sheriff in 2006, said he spoke with representatives of three Orange County supervisors -- Moorlach, Nguyen and Norby -- and told them he would like to be considered for an appointment as sheriff if Carona resigns.

Carona “should do the honorable thing and resign. This isn’t just a one-time mistake. This is a calculated mistrust,” Martin said.

“They need somebody from the outside that is not indebted to anybody in that department, including the sheriff’s union,” he said. “I don’t think the LAPD officers would have voted for Bill Bratton from New York, but that’s exactly what they needed.”

Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters said he would consider running for sheriff if the office were vacated.

“My recommendation would be to bring back [former Orange County Sheriff] Brad Gates until they have an election,” Walters said.

“If all these allegations are true, they are far-reaching and far worse than anyone expected. It could certainly have a very negative impact on law enforcement in Orange County,” Walters said.

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garrett.therolf@latimes.com

david.reyes@latimes.com

Times staff writer Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.