LOCAL ELECTIONS SHERIFF : Drown to Take Leave to Concentrate on Race

Saying he wishes to devote all of his time to the sheriff’s race, Assistant Sheriff Jack Drown announced that he will take a three-month leave of absence from his Sheriff’s Department duties.

“It’s not fair to work two full-time jobs,” Drown said, explaining that he feels a leave of absence is the best way to correct the situation.

In taking a leave, Drown will utilize about six weeks of vacation time and then take time off without pay, he said. “There’s going to be an impact, but it’s important enough that I have to make the sacrifice. This is important to me, to the department and to the people of San Diego.”

An official announcement about his leave was issued Friday, and Drown said he had notified his superiors 10 days earlier. Drown, an assistant sheriff who was endorsed by outgoing Sheriff John Duffy, came in second, with 28% of the vote, in the June primary. His campaign war chest now holds about $6,000, he said.

Lemon Grove Sheriff’s captain Jim Roache, who won the primary with 32% of the vote, said he has no plans to take a leave of absence. Having saved up about 11 weeks of vacation, Roache said he plans to use this time when the campaign heats up. His campaign coffers also held about $6,000 at the end of June, he said.

“I don’t see any necessity to take leave of absence; I have been able to balance the needs of my job and my campaign,” he said.

Roache also said that Drown’s timing in taking a leave is significant because it comes on the heels of several controversies that have embroiled the Sheriff’s Department, such as the recent $1.1-million award to a Navy chaplain who claimed he had been beaten by deputies and the shooting death by deputies of a young unarmed Vista resident. In taking a leave, Drown is attempting to distance himself from these controversies and from being held accountable for incidents that have enraged some residents, Roache charged.

“I don’t think the timing is coincidental. When you look at the shooting, he avoided the controversy; he was silent. Now, with the lawsuit, it’s another controversial situation, and he fails to exhibit leadership,” Roache said. “His solution to controversial situations it to avoid them.”

On Friday, a jury awarded $1.1 million to Jim Butler, a 60-year-old Vista resident, after they concluded that the county Sheriff’s Department had a policy that violated individuals’ rights.

Drown’s leave is “a smoke screen. He is behind, and he needs to do something to resurrect his candidacy,” Roache said.

Drown countered that a leave of absence would free him to address many issues.

“I think I am in a much better position to comment. . . .As a regular member of the department who is bound by the direction of the sheriff, I am more constrained from commenting,” Drown said. “The sheriff decides who speaks for the department--Roache knows that. He is trying to paint a picture that John Duffy and Jack Drown are one and the same, and it’s simply not true.”