Orange County Elections : Gates Opposes Measure A, Says It Will Cost Millions

Sheriff Brad Gates declared his opposition to the slow-growth initiative Wednesday, saying that his department cannot meet the initiative’s proposed emergency and non-emergency response times without spending $20 million to double his force.

“There are only one or two ways to get the money,” Gates said at a news conference in Santa Ana. “Raise taxes or steal it from current county programs.”

Gates complained that nobody involved in writing the Citizens’ Sensible Growth and Traffic Control Initiative ever asked him about the practicality of the emergency service standards that are in the measure.

But slow-growth leader Tom Rogers said he got the standards from one of Gates’ assistants last year. Rogers declined to name the member of Gates’ staff, saying he had promised the person anonymity.

“Nobody’s ever challenged the public safety part of the initiative until now, when suddenly Gates steps up,” Rogers said, adding that cities such as San Clemente already meet the initiative’s public safety standards. “If he can’t accomplish it, then he should resign.”

The initiative, listed as Measure A on the Tuesday countywide ballot, ties future growth to the ability of local roads--and public services such as police, paramedics and fire--to handle increased populations.

It would require that new development result in the ability of police, fire and paramedics to respond to at least 85% of all calls within five minutes in emergencies and within 15 minutes in non-emergencies.

Gates described the 15-minute requirement for non-emergencies as “ridiculous” because it would involve calls for minor matters such as a stolen bicycle or a torn window screen.

Gates said his department now meets the five-minute emergency-response goal on 40% of all calls and that this is sufficient, based on a recent 5% drop in the crime rate in the county’s unincorporated areas.

“I don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul,” Gates said, referring to the tough budget choices county supervisors might have to make to enable his department to meet the initiative’s standards.

Cites Copter Purchase

Gates acknowledged that, in 1983, he had persuaded the board to postpone some courthouse expansion, animal control and library projects so that he could buy two helicopters, but he defended that action, saying the helicopters have been instrumental in saving lives and in recovering millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine and other contraband.

Gates said that Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer had talked to someone at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology about analyzing how many cars and staff would be needed to assure a five-minute emergency response in a semi-rural area such as south Orange County. According to Gates, LaDucer was told there is no way to calculate that.

LaDucer acknowledged, however, that the Sheriff Department’s own standards are to try to answer 80% of all emergency calls within five minutes, and to answer non-emergencies within 20 minutes.

Rogers and slow-growth initiative supporter Norm Grossman said that the emergency standards contained in the initiative were approved in principle by Santa Ana Mayor Dan Young and Huntington Beach Mayor John Erskine last summer during ill-fated negotiations aimed at averting the current election battle.

“They (Erskine and Young) were skeptical at first but then checked with their police departments and came back and said, ‘No problem,’ ” Grossman recalled.

Campaign Heats Up

Erskine and Young were unavailable for comment Wednesday.

The sheriff’s press conference came as the campaign against Measure A heated up in the days before Tuesday’s vote. Earlier this week, letters were sent to between 4,000 and 4,500 registered Democrats urging them to vote against the initiative because it “works against the basic democratic values of full employment, economic opportunity, and fair housing.”

The letters were signed by Richard O’Neill, former chairman of the state Democratic Party whose family owns the Santa Margarita Co.; Howard Adler, a former chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party who is also a developer, and Bob Balgenorth, executive secretary of the Orange County Building Trades.

All three men strongly oppose the slow-growth initiative, but the letter identified O’Neill and Adler only as former Democratic chairmen and not as developers.

Adler defended the letter Wednesday as “one Democrat writing to another,” and said he did not feel compelled to identify himself as a developer because “I didn’t think it was pertinent.”

“These are people who are active Democrats,” he said, noting that the county Democratic Party had taken no stand on the initiative. “They know I am a developer. That is no secret. I am a fairly visible guy.”

“We weren’t trying to hide anything by saying we weren’t developers,” O’Neill said. “I don’t consider myself a developer anyway. We sell parcels of land to developers. We sent (the letters) out to people who know us as active Democrats. We are sort of the leaders of the party here. We were trying to emphasize we are active Democrats.”