Sheriff, Would-Be Successor Saluted

Ventura County leaders Friday praised Sheriff Larry Carpenter for his strong leadership and forthrightness, while department personnel were applauding the sheriff’s choice of Chief Deputy Robert Brooks as Carpenter’s successor if he steps down in 1998 as planned.

“Bob has the energy and the strength needed,” said Chief Deputy Ken Kipp, who heads the west county’s Police Services Division. “I mean that job can make an old man out of you real quick.”

Sgt. Dave Williams, president of the Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn., said Brooks also gets high marks from the deputies in the field, who cite his fairness and accessibility.

“He’s well liked by the deputies under him and respected by his peers,” Williams said. “He has a well-rounded background, he’s fair, and he’s always there when he needs to be. He’d be a great sheriff.”

In an interview with The Times on Thursday, Carpenter, 50, said he would like to leave office at the end of his current term, in two years. He said he wants to leave while he is still young enough to enjoy hunting, fishing and other hobbies.

“Eventually, anyone in this kind of position wears down,” Carpenter said. “Whether I will have the energy four, five or six years in the future is anybody’s guess.”

If he does leave as planned, Carpenter will have a comfortable retirement. His current annual base salary, which includes a 3% cost-of-living raise approved earlier this year, and benefits total $140,244. This does not include the county’s contribution to Carpenter’s 401(k) retirement plan.

At the time of his departure, considering his age and years of service, Carpenter would receive 70% of his current salary and benefits, or $98,170 a year.

Several Ventura County leaders, as well as friends and colleagues, said Friday that Carpenter had been hinting very strongly for some time that he wants to step down at the end of his term.

“I heard a rumor a couple of weeks ago, so I flat out confronted him,” Supervisor Judy Mikels said. “Then when he told me, I was really upset and sorry I’d asked because I didn’t like the answer.”

Veteran Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason, who has himself decided to retire at the end of the year, said he spoke with Carpenter about a week ago during a visit to his city.

“He and I were talking and he said, ‘You know, I really envy you and your retirement plans,’ ” Lawrason said. “There was a little glimmer in his eye, but he didn’t say anything more. I guess in retrospect he was hinting at it.”

Thousand Oaks Mayor Andy Fox said Carpenter had also hinted to him earlier this year about his desire to step down.

“He indicated that he was reaching the end of his career and would like to go into retirement still healthy enough to enjoy the outdoors and time with his family,” Fox said. “I can understand someone wanting to hand the baton to someone else. The commitment for holding that type of job is enormous.”

Thousand Oaks City Manager Grant Brimhall said Carpenter would be deeply missed.

“He’s a magnificent human being and a great contributor to the quality of law enforcement in our county,” Brimhall said. “At the same time, he’s been able to keep the perspective of what life is all about. Frankly, I salute him for thinking about this.”

Lawrason and Brimhall, whose cities are patrolled by the Sheriff’s Department, said Brooks is well qualified to succeed Carpenter. They said he has demonstrated his abilities during the past three years while in charge of the sheriff’s east county operations.

“He’s a very affable, easy-to-know guy that you can really communicate with,” Lawrason said. “I like him very much.”

Brimhall credited Brooks, a longtime resident of Thousand Oaks, with helping to promote community-based policing in the city and for his strong support of volunteer police programs.

“He’s a very smart cop,” Brimhall said. “He has a vision of how the entire community has to be brought into the overall policing equation.”

Top sheriff’s deputies have been discussing among themselves about what would happen if Carpenter left the department and who might succeed him.

“Bob and I have had that conversation, yeah,” Kipp said. “As for me, I never really considered it. When we started seeing Larry talk about his future . . . we knew intuitively that it had to pass to one of us, and one of us had to step up. Bob stepped up.”

Kipp said he and Brooks served together as patrol deputies more than 20 years ago and have risen together through the ranks.

“Bob and I are a generation behind Sheriff Carpenter,” Kipp said. “We expect to be in law enforcement for 30 years-plus, so this is the future.”

Chief deputies Donald Lanquist and Richard Rodriguez agreed that Brooks is the most likely successor.

“I’m 100% behind Larry’s decision,” Lanquist said. “Bob would make an excellent sheriff.”

Supervisor Frank Schillo said Carpenter was sending a clear message by making it known early that he supports Brooks.

“What he’s doing is telling people who may be thinking of running for sheriff that it may not be a good idea,” Schillo said. “He’s telling them don’t bother.”

Schillo said he too is a strong backer of Brooks.

“One thing you want in law enforcement is continuity,” he said. “And the big benefit is that the sheriff is picking a successor who will be working with him [the next two years].”