Officials Put O.C. Sheriff on Notice

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona faced increased scrutiny Friday for suspending his chief opponent in the bitterly fought election, with the mayor of San Clemente demanding reinstatement of the veteran law enforcement officer and the county Board of Supervisors questioning the action.

The San Clemente City Council on Monday will consider a formal resolution in support of Lt. Bill Hunt, who serves as police chief of San Clemente and who was suspended from duty a day after he lost to Carona in Tuesday’s election.

“He’s done a superb job as our chief and has always been very responsive to our needs,” said Mayor Wayne Eggleston, who had endorsed Hunt. “I hope that Sheriff Carona is not going to allow a political vendetta to interfere with his sworn duty to provide the highest quality of police services to the residents of San Clemente.”

Three county supervisors on Friday also said they planned to review Hunt’s suspension, as well as Carona’s decision to demote two of Hunt’s supporters in the department.

The action against Hunt has focused attention on the unusual role played by an outside special counsel, Martin J. Mayer. Mayer’s law firm was hired by the supervisors in December to advise them on “peace officer personnel matters.”

Supervisors said they learned only this week that Mayer was playing a key role in matters involving Carona’s chief political opponent.

Although the county is technically the firm’s client under the terms of the contract, supervisors said they had not met with Mayer or been briefed by him since the contract was awarded.

“They may be experts, but they have a client, and the client is us,” said Supervisor Chris Norby.

“Any expertise they have to share they should share with us, and so far they haven’t done it. If they’ve been advising the sheriff all along of their concerns with regard to Lt. Hunt, that advice needs to be shared with us.”

In a statement issued Thursday, Mayer said he advised Carona “several months ago” that Hunt could be removed from his position for actions that may have adversely affected his role on the sheriff’s command staff. He said Hunt had been under investigation for “public statements, actions and accusations that went beyond those which are protected by the 1st Amendment and could subject him to adverse employment action.”

Carona opted to wait until after the election to suspend Hunt, saying to place him on administrative leave during the campaign might have been interpreted as a political stunt, Mayer said earlier this week.

Mayer did not return a call Friday seeking comment.

County officials and the sheriff have not disclosed what Hunt’s alleged questionable actions were, citing legal restrictions on discussing personnel matters. Hunt and his lawyer said even they are in the dark about the allegations against him.

“I have no idea what the investigation is about,” said Stephen Silver, a Santa Monica attorney representing Hunt. “From Lt. Hunt’s perspective, the timing is pretty awful. It sure looks like this is some form of retaliation for exercising his most basic fundamental right, which is to participate in the election process.”

During the campaign, Hunt accused the sheriff of failing to fulfill any of his campaign promises during his two terms in office, and said that he embarrassed the department with a series of scandals including sexual misconduct and political cronyism.

Hunt tried to include in his ballot statement a sentence that said Carona “has given us one scandal after another and his record is a failure,” but a judge ordered it removed after the sheriff’s supporters took the matter to court.

Hunt, a 20-year Sheriff’s Department veteran, has supervised the 56 employees in San Clemente since 2003. San Clemente is one of many cities that contract with the department for law enforcement services.

San Clemente City Councilman Steven Knoblock, who did not endorse either candidate, said any internal investigations need to run their course before a decision can be made on reinstating Hunt.

During the campaign, Hunt said he knew he faced a potential political payback if he lost the election.

Three supervisors -- Bill Campbell, Lou Correa and Norby -- will be briefed Monday by Mayer about the allegations and evidence against Hunt.

Under county policy, personnel can be placed on paid administrative leave for only two weeks; any amount of time beyond that must be approved by the county’s chief executive officer. If board members determine that a suspension may have been improper, they could order the chief executive to return Hunt to active duty.