LOCAL ELECTIONS / SHERIFF : Campaign Is a Showdown at the O.C. Corral : Taking on a formidable opponent like Gates with modest funds could be a candidate’s nightmare, but Bankhead says ‘the cheapest way is sometimes the best.’

Fullerton City Councilman Don Bankhead says he didn’t really want to challenge Sheriff Brad Gates in the June election.

But when he went to a meeting a few months ago at an Irvine hotel called by longtime Gates opponents in hope of finding a candidate, the former Fullerton police captain suddenly found himself on center stage.

“I really came down (to the meeting) with the thought of locating someone and helping him,” Bankhead said. No other candidate surfaced, however, and now the task of trying to unseat the powerful, four-term sheriff, who has political connections that most Orange County officeholders can only dream of, fell to Bankhead.

A 31-year veteran of the Fullerton Police Department, Bankhead has a fraction of the campaign money that Gates has--$33,000 to the sheriff’s $126,000, according to the most recent statements--and a smattering of endorsements. But he is counting on the negative publicity that Gates has received over the past several years to put him over the top.

“It’s going to be difficult without money,” Bankhead said recently. “But the cheapest way is sometimes the best way. . . . Enough things have occurred over the past few years that people are kind of ready for a change.”

Gates has easily won reelection three times over the past 12 years. But he also has been repeatedly embroiled in controversy over whether he has abused his authority. The county has paid out at least $1.5 million to settle lawsuits with Gates’ political and personal rivals--some of whom are active in Bankhead’s campaign--who claimed that he used his department to harass them.

“I don’t think there is any need for these kinds of suits, not if you treat people like human beings,” Bankhead said. “If he (Gates) violates someone’s rights, why doesn’t he pay, instead of the taxpayers? . . . He seems to think the laws are made for everyone else.”

An angry Gates said that Bankhead is singing the same old tired song he has heard for years and that he will have no more of it.

“I am tired of people picking on me personally,” Gates said. “We did our job fairly. We followed the law and addressed the facts. My department does a great job, and I am proud of what we do.”

Bankhead said he is supportive of most of the Sheriff’s Department’s programs and policies, although he thinks that the duties of sheriff and coroner should be separated, as they are in all other large California counties.

“I’m not running against the working cops on the street,” Bankhead said. “I’m running against Brad Gates. . . . The things the sheriff does, he feels he’s not going to be held responsible for them.”

Gates has also come under fire in recent years for mingling the business of sheriff with personal real estate ventures, which total more than $8 million in transactions since he took office in 1974. His portfolio has included shopping centers, custom homes, apartments and what will become the largest equestrian center in Orange County. Many of his business partners are among the county’s elite, who also serve as board members of the Sheriff’s Advisory Council, a nonprofit group that raises money for Sheriff’s Department projects and equipment.

Gates’ wealth and property dealings initially were investigated in 1977 and 1978 by the state Justice Department, the FBI and a federal grand jury. No criminal charges resulted.

Gates has denied using his office for personal gain. “I am taking the high road in this race,” he said. “The issues in this race are drugs and (overcrowded) jails. . . . I have the experience to solve those problems. I am not afraid to get involved in controversy and not afraid to step out on the drug issue.”

Gates has made attacking the drug problem the cornerstone of his administration, and he said that one of his priorities in a fifth term would be to end drug abuse and jail overcrowding, which he called “the basic core of all our problems.”

Gates’ anti-drug efforts are recognized even among federal officials.

Twice in the last two years, Gates invited President Bush to Orange County to deliver anti-drug messages, and both times the invitation was accepted. On his most recent visit, Bush helped kick off an anti-drug campaign for schoolchildren sponsored by the “Drug Use Is Life Abuse” program, which is funded by business, industry and individual citizens.

Gates was also successful in getting Orange County included in a federal program that designates certain regions as “high-intensity drug-use areas.” The distinction will mean that the county can share with Los Angeles County about $5 million in additional federal funds to combat drug use.

And Gates says that the Regional Narcotics Task Force, a group of investigators from the county’s police departments and under command of the Sheriff’s Department, has been rated the most effective unit of its type in the nation by the FBI.

Another achievement that Gates is proud of is the genetic crime lab that his department recently opened--the first operated by a local law enforcement agency in California.

Comparing his qualifications to those of his opponent, Gates noted that Bankhead was passed up twice for chief during his tenure at the Fullerton Police Department.

But Bankhead said he has enough experience to run the Sheriff’s Department: He was in charge of the Fullerton department’s uniform division for two years and then all criminal investigations for eight years, and served as acting chief in the police chief’s absence.

Besides, Bankhead said, Gates’ long years in office have removed him from any sense of accountability to the voters.

“I was always taught that if the wheel doesn’t squeak, grease it, and if it squeaks, fix it,” Bankhead said. “The Sheriff’s Department has been squeaking for a long time.”

ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF

Brad Gates

Age: 51

Home: San Juan Capistrano

Occupation: Sheriff-coroner

Background: Joined the Sheriff’s Department in 1961. Was assigned to guard duty in the County Jail, rose to the rank of undersheriff and, with the backing of outgoing Sheriff James A. Musick, ran in 1974 for the office of sheriff. Has been reelected three times since.

Issues: Supports keeping the offices of sheriff and coroner together; wants to use Rancho del Rio, a confiscated South County property, for a regional narcotics training center although the Board of Supervisors has voted to sell the land; opposes privatization or extensive use of non-sworn personnel in jails.

Don Bankhead

Age: 57

Home: Fullerton

Occupation: Retired police captain, currently a city councilman

Background: Joined the Fullerton Police Department in 1957. Rose to captain in 1980. Retired in 1988 and was elected to the Fullerton City Council that November.

Issues: Wants to separate the offices of sheriff and coroner and give the public more access to coroner’s investigations; opposes the idea of Orange County’s opening a narcotics training center on its own, without the help of cities or the state; would put some non-sworn personnel in jails as a cost-cutting measure.