Anaheim Mayor, Gates Face Off Over Jail Tax : Measure J: In TV debate, sheriff says more cells are vital, but Hunter calls plan ‘a billion-dollar boondoggle.’

In their first public confrontation, Orange County Sheriff Brad Gates and Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter engaged in a heated debate Wednesday over Measure J, with Hunter calling the half-cent sales tax initiative on the May 14 ballot “a billion-dollar boondoggle” and Gates accusing opponents of not wanting a jail in their back yard.

During taping of a public affairs show at KOCE-TV’s studios, Hunter said Measure J is poorly written and that voters do not know exactly what their money would buy. He urged voters: “Don’t be fooled by this billion-dollar boondoggle.”

Gates, who said the county desperately needs more jail space because it faces a crisis of overcrowding, accused Hunter of opposing Measure J only because a new jail would be built in a canyon just east of his city.

“This is, in fact, a not-in-my-back-yard issue,” Gates said.

Also appearing on the show were Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi, who supports Measure J, and Rick Violett, a real estate broker from Yorba Linda who is a leading opponent of the measure. The show will air on KOCE at 6:30 p.m. May 11, and then again at 9 p.m. May 13, the day before the election.

For most of the 30-minute discussion, the four calmly explained their views. But by the end of the program, host Jim Cooper had to untangle Gates and Hunter, who wanted to talk at the same time.

“The bottom line is,” Gates said, “we need a new jail--even the opponents agree with that. . . . I think it’s ironic that Mayor Hunter would raise taxes in his own city, but he won’t raise taxes to build a new jail.”

Hunter, who announced this week that he will seek a third term as mayor and that his city’s budget shortfall will necessitate a tax increase, angrily interrupted the sheriff.

“The bottom line is, this is a billion-dollar boondoggle, and there are other, more cost-effective measures, and we need to look at other alternatives and not this one,” Hunter said.

Cooper allowed each participant a one-minute opening statement, then asked a series of questions that brought some intense exchanges.

Hunter said the issue is that voters do not want to pay higher taxes.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “It’s time to send a message: no new taxes.”

Hunter said that with the possibility of Gov. Pete Wilson raising the state sales tax by up to 1 1/4 cents, county voters would be paying up to 8 1/4 cents for every dollar if Measure J, a 30-year levy, is approved.

“This is going to be a tax your grandchildren will be paying,” he said. “Measure J is poorly written and vague.”

Gates said Measure J is all about trying to alleviate a crisis of jail overcrowding. He said he is under a federal court order that caps the population at the Central Men’s Jail and added that the county’s five-jail system holds an average of 4,400 inmates, while it was designed for just 3,203.

“What that all means is, we are releasing 850 prisoners a week, because we don’t have enough jail space,” Gates said.

Capizzi, who was one of the signers of the sample ballot arguments in favor of Measure J, said that releasing criminals back into the street is demoralizing to law enforcement officers trying to fight crime.

“We have enjoyed the reputation in this county of being tough on crime,” he said. “It’s tough to be tough on the criminals without jail cells.”

Violett said the county has not done enough to explore alternatives to incarceration, such as putting electronic bracelets on more sentenced criminals. These would allow them to live at home while being monitored by officers.

At one point, Cooper pointed out that Measure J does not mention that revenue would be used to build a jail at Gypsum Canyon. In fact, the measure says only that taxpayers would pay an extra half-cent sales tax “to construct, furnish, acquire, maintain and operate adult and juvenile detention facilities and courthouse facilities in the county.”

“Does this amount to a blank check?” Cooper asked all four.

“Absolutely not, Jim,” Gates responded, adding that the Board of Supervisors several times has designated Gypsum Canyon as the preferred site for a new regional jail. Last month, the supervisors also voted to make building the Gypsum Canyon jail the No. 1 priority for Measure J money.

Gates also said several cities and the county’s Probation Department have submitted proposals to the Orange County Regional Justice Facilities Commission, the independent body that placed Measure J on the ballot, for projects to be funded if the measure passes.

Hunter, however, called Measure J “vague” and questioned Gates’ contentions that it would raise an average of $343 million a year, saying the best estimates show that the tax would raise only about $155 million in the first year.

Hunter pointed out that the exact costs of building a Gypsum Canyon jail, including the cost to operate it and acquire the property from its owner, the Irvine Co., are not known.

“The Irvine Co. says the value of that land is $800 million,” he said, “and the county says it is worth $55 million. So we have a big difference here. Measure J at a half-cent is not enough money.”

Gates responded: “I get disappointed at the challenge of these numbers. . . . Measure J will take care of the maintenance, purchase, construction of jail facilities, court facilities, the Juvenile Hall expansion and detoxification centers.”

Hunter later said: “I’m a former narcotics officer. We do need more jail space. But this whole thing from the very beginning of putting a jail facility on land the county doesn’t even own . . . they should have first looked at land they already owned, rather than try to seize private property from a company like the Irvine Co.”

Hunter was referring to a bill by Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) that would make it easier for the Board of Supervisors to acquire the Gypsum Canyon land through eminent domain. Umberg’s bill was approved by the Assembly Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Gates and Hunter clashed again when the sheriff reminded the mayor that in 1986, when the county wanted to build a 1,600-bed jail at a site close to Anaheim Stadium, Hunter was part of an opposition group that instead suggested that a jail be built in Gypsum Canyon.

“I guess I’m disappointed that you keep jumping positions,” Gates said.

Hunter replied: “Jails need to be next to courthouses, like they are in Riverside County, San Diego and Sacramento.”

But Capizzi countered: “I think it’s ironic that the mayor of Anaheim is saying jails ought to be close to courthouses, when in fact (Anaheim has) the second-largest jail system in the county. They have 150 beds right there.”

“That jail is being paid for by the taxpayers of Anaheim,” Hunter shot back. “If all cities did that on a pro-rata basis, we wouldn’t be in this jam.”