Cities Served by Block Are Bastions of Support

One of the least known sources of Sheriff Sherman Block’s political power is the relationship he has cultivated with the smaller cities that contract with Los Angeles County for their law enforcement and fire protection.

Their council members, mayors and business interests are lining up solidly behind Block in what has been his most difficult reelection campaign. The incumbent sheriff--who is seeking a fifth term in June against determined opposition--has aggressively pursued endorsements from dozens of local officials whose cities contract with the department to patrol their streets.

Forty cities--home to about 1.4 million people spread over 500 square miles of Los Angeles County--pay the department nearly $140 million annually for police services. The price is determined by a number of factors, including how many patrol cars are assigned to the area, whether cars are staffed with one or two deputies and whether the community signs up for special enforcement services, such as bike patrols and gang abatement.

It is a cozy relationship that has been going on for years: The sheriff keeps the communities happy, and the council members and city executives return the favor by pledging their political support. This year, Block wasted no time in calling on his allies to throw their names behind his campaign.

The list of supporters--which includes 123 council members from 37 so-called “contract cities”--goes on for 10 pages. While Block says the endorsements are just an indication that he’s doing a good job, some critics question whether it is appropriate for the sheriff to solicit support from council members who negotiate contracts--totaling tens of millions of dollars--with the Sheriff’s Department.

“Who is going to be brave enough to go against the sheriff?” one critic said.

But sheriff’s Cmdr. Bill Mangan--who oversees such contracts for the sheriff--said the endorsements are part of a “basic consumer mentality. If you give them good services and they are used to being pleased, they are going to go with what they know,” he said.

Even the board of directors for the powerful California Contract Cities Assn. decided to weigh in on the issue. Recently, the board voted to support Block, the first time the group has taken a position in a sheriff’s race.

Indeed, many officials from the contract cities said they decided to endorse the sheriff because they’re pleased with the job his department is doing in their communities, despite the fact that Block has come under sharp criticism for a range of departmental problems, including conditions in the county’s jail system.

“Frankly, if Sherman Block wants to scrimp on the jails, then so be it,” said West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem Steve Martin. “My constituents are more concerned about whether or not they are carjacked or mugged on the street.”

But there are some who have decided to go against the tide.

“Sherman Block has done a very aggressive job in reaching out to the contract cities,” said Jeff Prang--the only City Council member in West Hollywood who is not supporting the sheriff’s reelection bid. “He has come a long way and has done some very good things. I just believe it’s time for new, invigorated leadership.”

Prang said that when he announced that he was endorsing sheriff’s Chief Lee Baca, who oversees the West Hollywood station and a number of other commands, some of his colleagues “scolded” him.

“I was a little startled that a couple of people thought that what I did was so bold,” Prang said. “The powers that be are behind the sheriff. . . . Well, I’m sticking with the Sheriff’s Department, I’m just ready for a new sheriff.”

Council members in the contract cities say Block began seeking their endorsements more than a year ago--when his administration came under critical scrutiny by the media. When the sheriff formally announced in October that he was running for reelection, he handed out a four-page endorsement list, including the names of nearly 175 elected officials, all five county supervisors, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and dozens of other local leaders.

Since then, the list has steadily grown--with the officials from the contract cities making up a majority of the names.

When his critics complain about the way he has run his department, Block counters by pointing to his list of supporters.

“It’s a testament to how I perform my duties as a law enforcement officer,” Block said earlier this week at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Prosecutors.

But Block’s three competitors--Baca, retired sheriff’s Chief Bill Baker and Sgt. Patrick Gomez--allege that the sheriff has been pressuring local leaders for their support.

“The only thing that’s missing is a mask and a gun,” said Baker, who retired in 1995 as head of the department’s detective division. “It would be one thing if they voluntarily offered to endorse him. But for him to go out and aggressively seek their endorsements puts them in a Catch-22.”

Despite Block’s efforts, Baca has obtained support from the mayors of five contract cities, including Lynwood, Commerce, Temple City, South El Monte and Artesia. In addition to Prang, four other city council members--from Lawndale to Rolling Hills Estates--have signed on to his campaign. Baker has been endorsed by the mayors from two contract cities--Rancho Palos Verdes and Bellflower--as well as a Lynwood city councilman. Gomez, who works at the department’s Temple City station, has been endorsed by 12 Democratic clubs in the county.

Block’s supporters deny that the sheriff has pressured the leaders to join his campaign.

“No one was holding anyone’s arm and twisting it,” said Sam Olivito, the executive director of the California Contract Cities Assn. “People feel strongly that [Block] is the one to lead the Sheriff’s Department.”

The relationship between the sheriff and the city leaders dates back more than 44 years to when Lakewood became the first city in Los Angeles County to hire deputies to patrol its streets rather than financing a police department. The founders of Lakewood met with then-Sheriff Peter Pitchess to work out a deal called the “Lakewood Plan,” figuring they could save money if they didn’t have to pay for their own force.

Today, the city of Lancaster has the largest contract, spending more than $10 million a year to protect its 97,000 residents. Santa Clarita has the second-largest contract, spending $9.3 million for 110,000 residents.

And the city of West Hollywood comes in third, shelling out $8 million a year to protect 36,000 residents.

West Hollywood--which almost fired the Sheriff’s Department and started its own police force six years ago--is considered the department’s premiere contract. The sheriff’s community-based policing there has been nationally recognized.

Treating West Hollywood with special care, the department in recent years stepped up efforts to improve relations with the city’s gay community--requiring sensitivity training of all its deputies. (Block even began participating in the annual gay parade.)

Department officials started holding regular town hall meetings, giving residents a chance to air their concerns. The department also took steps to reach out to the city’s large immigrant community--with deputies going to night school to learn how to speak Russian and other languages.

“Everyone in this organization knows that the contract cities are customers and we try to treat them as customers should be treated,” acting Assistant Sheriff Rachel Burgess said.

But while its efforts in West Hollywood are touted as a great success, its dealings with the city of Santa Fe Springs are considered one of its greatest failings.

In 1995, city officials there decided to abandon their decades-long relationship with the Sheriff’s Department and contract with Whittier for police services. City leaders complained that the Sheriff’s Department was not responsive to their needs and that they could save money by contracting elsewhere.

But the department didn’t want to let go of Santa Fe Springs, and it launched an aggressive campaign to keep the city from canceling its $4.3-million contract. Block offered a number of concessions, including a cap on future cost increases.

Behind the scenes, the department went to work on a ballot initiative that would have made it impossible for Santa Fe Springs to terminate its contract with the Sheriff’s Department without a vote of the people. The initiative was ultimately defeated and city officials contracted with the Whittier police.

“The Sheriff’s Department is absolutely abominable in the way they treat contract cities when they start looking at other options,” said Santa Fe Springs City Manager Donald R. Powell. “We kept asking, ‘We’re only a $4.3-million contract. Why do you care?’ Block’s response was that they cared about all the contract cities.

“They were afraid if they let one go, others would leave.”

Santa Fe Springs Mayor Ron Kernes said he received a half dozen calls from Block urging him to stay with the Sheriff’s Department.

“He reminded me that we have been friends for 37 years and to give them a chance,” Kernes said. “I told him that we had been asking for changes for five years and they haven’t done it. . . . I thought it was time for us to move into another area of police service.”

About six months ago, Kernes said he ran into Block.

“He said, ‘Are we still friends?’ ” Kernes said. “I said, ‘Yeah, we’re friends.’ ”

Kernes said the next thing he knew, his name appeared on Block’s endorsement list, even though he had never endorsed him.

After word got back to Block’s campaign that Kernes’ name was included in error, he was taken off the list. “I still think Sherm is a personable guy,” Kernes said. “But they are no longer doing a service for us. I just think I should stay out of the race.”

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Block’s Broad Power Base

Here’s a look at the 37 cities that contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and have council members who have announced support for Sheriff Sherman Block in the June election.

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Council Members City Endorsing Block Agoura Hills 3 Artesia 3 Avalon 3 Bellflower 3 Bradbury 5 Calabasas 3 Carson 4 Cerritos 3 Commerce 1 Cudahy 4 Diamond Bar 3 Duarte 4 Hawaiian Garden 4 Hidden Hills 3 Industry 4 La Canada Flintridge 4 Lakewood 5 La Mirada 4 Lancaster 4 La Puente 2 Lawndale 3 Lomita 3 Lynwood 2 Malibu 3 Norwalk 1 Palmdale 4 Paramount 3 Pico Rivera 4 Rancho Palos Verdes 3 Rosemead 3 San Dimas 3 Santa Clarita 4 South El Monte 3 Temple City 4 Walnut 3 West Hollywood 4 Westlake Village 4 Total 123

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