Jail Funds Pawn of Power Play

When Orange County voters earlier this month gave state Proposition 52 a 64.5% Yes vote, they did so knowing that $495 million worth of bonds would be sold to raise money for county jails all over the state, including Orange County.

The county expected to receive about $25 million of the approved state bond funds to help build needed jail space and comply with a federal court order to immediately ease overcrowded conditions at the existing county lockup facilities.

The strong Yes vote should not be canceled out by political power plays in Sacramento that not only seek to circumvent the will of the electorate but dangerously drag the Legislature into local land-use squabbles and override the judgment decisions of elected local officials.

But canceling out the vote is precisely what Assemblyman Richard Robinson (D-Garden Grove) and Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim) would do if the Legislature and Gov. George Deukmejian let them get away with it.

Robinson has already received the approval of the Assembly Public Safety Committee for an amendment to a bill allocating Proposition 52 bond money to the counties. His change would prohibit the spending of state money on any adult jail facility near Anaheim Stadium and Disneyland. The amendment would bar spending not only new bond funds but also any state money for the new jail’s construction. Seymour supports the amendment.

The two legislators are acting in the interests of their constituents in Anaheim who strongly oppose the site chosen by the Orange County Board of Supervisors for a new 1,500-bed county jail on county-owned property at Katella Avenue and Douglas Road in Anaheim.

Some local officials say Robinson’s action is politically motivated. It is a blatant political move that instead of considering countywide implications, panders to the voters whose support Robinson will be seeking in his upcoming general election battle against Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) for the seat in the 38th Congressional District.

But the location of a new county jail, or Robinson’s need to garner as many votes as possible in the district, are not the issues state lawmakers ought to be concerned about. Those are strictly local matters.

More important to them should be the confidence of voters who don’t want their votes to be thrown away by political manipulating hundreds of miles away and the dragging of the state into local decisions already made by other elected officials. It’s bad business the Legislature ought to reject. If it doesn’t, Gov. Deukmejian should veto the attempt.

The Legislature and governor owe that to local government and to the voters who supported their Proposition 52. That’s more important than any political back-scratching Robinson and Seymour may be trying to collect.