TIMES ORANGE COUNTY POLL : Lingering Jail Woes Take Political Toll on Officials

Orange County supervisors have bickered for years over where to build a new jail and how to pay for it, and their inability to move ahead--a new poll suggests--has won them few fans.

The vast majority of county respondents rated the board’s handling of the jail issue no better than mediocre--27% labeled it outright “poor,” and another 42% called it “fair.” Only 16% labeled the board’s performance good or excellent. Sheriff Brad Gates, who manages the county jails, fared slightly better, but not much: 24% of those polled rated his work excellent or good, contrasted with 39% who found it fair and 23% who considered it poor.

“There aren’t very many people who give the supervisors or the sheriff a very good report card (on the jail issue),” said pollster Mark Baldassare. “These are not grades to be proud of.”

Those ratings were part of a Times Orange County Poll conducted last week by Mark Baldassare and Associates. Six hundred Orange County residents were interviewed by telephone, and the poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%.

In a May, 1988, Times Orange County Poll, 37% rated the board’s overall performance good or excellent; 16% this time gave the supervisors a comparable rating for the board’s handling of the jail issue specifically, an indication of how deeply dissatisfied many voters feel.

With public concern high over the issue of jail overcrowding--more than 4,400 inmates are locked up in facilities meant to hold 3,203--the findings suggest that the supervisors and sheriff, all of whom are elected officials, may face considerable political pressure to break what has been a continuing logjam over jail construction and find a way to make progress on the issue.

That’s just what some poll respondents say they hope happens.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Penny McNutt, a San Clemente resident and poll respondent who rated both the sheriff and the board in the poor category. “I feel like they’re acting like their hands are tied.”

Board members have long argued just that. Supervisor Don R. Roth in particular has noted that the county simply does not have the money to solve its jail overcrowding problems in one fell swoop. Estimates vary widely for building and operating a new facility, but Roth has suggested it could cost more than $1 billion to put a massive new jail in Gypsum Canyon, about 10 miles east of Anaheim.

Roth has long preferred to put a jail at Chiriaco Summit in the Riverside County desert, and in the Times Orange County Poll, 78% favored that site as well. But recent county financial estimates make that site look even more expensive to build and operate than Gypsum Canyon, which drew a 60% favorable response in the poll.

Other estimates say building in Gypsum Canyon could be much less than $1 billion, but the county has no money in its budget for such an undertaking--even if it comes in much cheaper. In fact, this year’s budget was $13 million in the red at midyear and could easily be worse by July, when the next fiscal year begins.

Political considerations are also evident. Roth and Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez oppose the Gypsum Canyon Jail, which would be built in Vasquez’s district and within a few miles of Roth’s.

The rest of the supervisors represent constituents far away from the proposed site, and all three strongly support it. But it takes four votes to acquire land through condemnation--a process that governments can use to buy property from an unwilling seller--and the 3-2 deadlock has kept the board from moving ahead.

Poll respondents showed little sympathy for the board’s political or financial plights, insisting that new jails are needed quickly to relieve overcrowding and to halt controversial “cite and release” policies under which criminals and suspects are released early to free up badly needed jail beds.

“I would be very upset to see this jail not get built because of the politics of it,” said Mike Keeney of Tustin. “These guys are getting released early because of this, and I just hope they’re not going out and doing something else.”

Like Keeney, many poll respondents pointed to the early release policies as a key reason for condemning the actions of their public officials.

“I know the board is trying, but they need to do more,” said Lucy Doro of Orange. “They need to improve the conditions in the jails, and they need to keep the people in.”

Respondents were more tempered in their assessments of Gates but found little to praise in his performance, either. Criticism came from both sides: Some residents say he has not done much to press for new jails, and others believe he has overemphasized jails at the expense of community service programs or other alternatives to incarceration.

“I don’t really have anything against the sheriff personally,” said Mike Sweeney of Tustin. “But I think there’s a wholesale attitude about putting people in jail, and if the public officials would get behind another approach, I’d support them more.”

In other follow-up interviews, many poll respondents seemed ignorant of Gates’ position on new jail construction and of his role in addressing overcrowding. That may in part stem from Gates’ determination to avoid confronting the Board of Supervisors over the issue.

“I haven’t found that standing up and screaming and yelling is the most effective way to get things done,” the sheriff said in an interview last year.

His quieter approach, however, so far has failed to persuade the reluctant board members to back the Gypsum Canyon Jail. And though county officials continue to negotiate with representatives of the Irvine Co., owner of the property, there’s yet to be a breakthrough on that front, either.

In the meantime, some county residents who were interviewed for The Times Orange County Poll say they’re fed up with delays, and many say they want to see their elected officials finally resolve the issue.

“I think they’ve neglected to care for our public safety, and that’s one of the things they’re supposed to take care of,” said Elynor Wylde of San Clemente. “I don’t care what they name the new airport terminal (opened last year in honor of senior Supervisor Thomas F. Riley). I want them to protect us and our families, and they’re not.”

HOW THE POLL WAS CONDUCTED

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted Jan. 14 to 18 by Mark Baldassare & Associates. The telephone survey of 600 Orange County adults was conducted on weekday nights using a computer-generated random sample of listed and unlisted telephone numbers. For a sample of this size, the margin of error is plus or minus 4%. Sampling error is just one type of error that can affect opinion polls. Results can also be affected by question wording, survey timing and other variables. All responses were anonymous, but some agreed to be re-interviewed later for a news story.

Orange County Jail Construction Poll

“How would you rate the performance of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and Sheriff Brad Gates in handling the issue of jail overcrowding?”

Board of Supervisors:

Excellent: 2%

Good: 14%

Fair: 42%

Poor: 27%

Don’t Know: 15%

Sheriff Brad Gates:

Excellent: 4%

Good: 20%

Fair: 39%

Poor: 23%

Don’t Know: 14%

County supervisors have been split on how to proceed with a new jail for years, with three members backing the massive and controversial Gypsum Canyon site, near Anaheim, and two opposing it.

Supportive:

Thomas F. Riley: Stalwart Gypsum Canyon backer, Riley made pushing for a new jail a key element of his inaugural address this month. He’s recovering from heart surgery now, but expects to return soon.

Roger R. Stanton: Leading opponent of an initiative last year that would have required new jails to go to Santa Ana, which he represents. Stanton is the architect of a financing plan that involves combining the jail with a landfill and paying for it with higher garbage collection fees.

Harriett M. Wieder: With Riley, she pushed legislation that opened talks with the Irvine Co., owner of Gypsum Canyon, over the county’s interest in buying the property.

Opposed:

Don R. Roth: Says the jail would be too expensive, and the county has no money to spare. He’s also a former mayor of Anaheim.

Gaddi H. Vasquez: Like Roth, he cites financial issues. Prefers alternatives to incarceration, such as electronic bracelets to monitor prisoners at home. Gypsum Canyon is in his district.

Sheriff Brad Gates: Year after year, Gates, whose department manages the jails, has made the call for new jails a running issue with the board. He rarely confronts the supervisors, however, and some judges and others have criticized him for not being more outspoken.