Orange County Sheriff Will Not Seek 7th Term

Brad Gates announced Thursday that he would not be seeking a seventh, four-year term as Orange County’s top law enforcement officer and threw his support behind one of his top commanders during an emotional news conference attended by friends and top Sheriff’s Department brass.

Gates said his decision sprang from his family’s desire to escape the political limelight, not because of the unusually strong election challenge he would have faced next year.

“Thirty-six years at this department is a long time. . . . Another five years was more than my family wanted to commit,” said Gates, who at times fought back tears. “There is always a new challenge, a new project that we should complete.”

Gates, 58, said he has not decided what he will do when his term expires at the end of 1998. But he hinted that he might “pursue business opportunities in the private sector.”

Although Gates said he was leaving elected office for good, he is not turning his back on politics. He said he would enthusiastically work for the election of Assistant Sheriff Doug Storm who, at the same news conference, announced his bid to become only the third sheriff in Orange County’s 50-year history.

Storm, 46, will face county Marshal Michael S. Carona, who already has won the backing of many Republican heavyweights who supported Gates’ campaigns in the past. Storm was endorsed Thursday by several local police chiefs.

Gates’ decision to leave county government comes as his department grapples with sexual harassment suits filed by three female employees, one of them the highest-ranking woman in the department, against former Assistant Sheriff Dennis LaDucer.

Although Gates initially defended his longtime top deputy, he subsequently fired LaDucer this summer after an internal department investigation. The lawsuits are scheduled to go to trial next year--just as the election will be heating up.

Gates said that neither the sexual harassment cases nor Carona’s strong campaign played a role in his decision.

“I’m not afraid of any challenge,” he said. “People who know me know I don’t walk away from a challenge.”

Carona’s backing from GOP leaders such as state Senate Republican Leader Rob Hurtt and former Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle, both of Garden Grove, shouldn’t hurt Storm’s chances for election, Gates said, and wouldn’t have hurt his chances either.

“I believe this office is controlled by the voters of Orange County, not any political party,” he said.

Gates expressed bittersweet feelings about leaving the job he has held since 1974.

“A piece of my body and soul will always be in this department,” he said. “This has been a very difficult decision for me and my family. You all know how much I love this job, and love the county of Orange.”

In recent years, Gates had come to be recognized as one of the most influential and best known politicians in Orange County, a man who gained national attention for his tough stance on illegal drugs, and who helped run county government during the chaotic weeks after Orange County’s 1994 bankruptcy filing.

The sheriff’s announcement was met with a mixture of surprise and praise from county and state officials.

“Brad Gates is one of the most effective sheriffs in the state,” Gov. Pete Wilson said from London, where he is traveling on state business. “The plummeting crime rate in Orange County is a testament to his effectiveness.”