For Orange County sheriff

SO many scandals have engulfed Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona in recent years that it can be difficult to remember that he was elected as a progressive-minded sheriff. In his seven years on the job, Carona has improved conditions at the jail, emphasizing reform over punishment. His latest plan would allow low-risk female inmates who have children to live in supervised houses with their children and take parenting and job-training classes.

Carona is a likable man with good ideas. But in personnel and political matters, he has repeatedly shown poor judgment. Among his mistakes was the hiring of two political allies as his top assistants after he was elected in 1998. Neither of the men met the basic requirements for the job, and both became involved in political scandals. Although Carona fired one and the other resigned, the damage was done to the department’s morale and reputation.

The state attorney general is also investigating whether Carona illegally billed his campaign for $130,000 in expenses. One of the sheriff’s captains was charged with illegally soliciting deputies for campaign donations to Carona and has since reached a plea bargain. Then there are the badges Carona handed out to his political supporters, some of whom are accused of misusing them for personal gain.

The list goes on, and it points to a sheriff who has repeatedly placed political connections and campaign contributions before prudent judgment. The result is a department so demoralized and fractured that it’s unlikely the sheriff can put it back together. Carona should have stuck with the two-term pledge he made, well, two terms ago.

Of the two challengers facing him, one emerges with both the manner and the management skills to pull the department together. Ralph W. Martin, a commander with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, oversees a 2,000-employee division that is bigger than the Orange County sheriff’s territory. He has 33 years of experience and recently oversaw the addition of a task force in Compton that reduced a spate of crime there. Although Martin is an outsider, he has lived in Orange County for eight years, and he would bring a new perspective and executive-level experience to a department in need of both.