Sheriff Remains in Serious Condition

While Sheriff Sherman Block remained in serious condition Tuesday, recovering from surgery to remove a blood clot “deep in his brain,” the county’s political establishment nevertheless rallied to urge voters to reelect the four-term incumbent, whatever his condition next Tuesday.

Members of the Board of Supervisors huddled in closed session and were briefed on their options should Block win the election but be unable to serve.

And powerful politicians, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Mayor Richard Riordan and two county supervisors, held a news conference Tuesday night outside a campaign fund-raiser in Brentwood to ask voters to support Block.

Riordan, who said his support was undiminished, predicted: “He’s going to be a great sheriff for another four years.”

But as reporters began to shout questions about Block’s condition, the officials withdrew to the cocktail party, which was expected to raise $50,000.

Should Block be elected but be unable to serve, the Board of Supervisors would have the power to appoint a replacement--and by all indications their choice would not be Lee Baca, the retired sheriff’s chief who has forced the ailing Block into the political fight of his career.

A Baca aide voiced unsurprising distaste at the prospect of a supervisorial appointment. “It certainly has the appearance of taking the voters’ voice out of the electoral process in this race,” said Jorge Flores, Baca’s campaign manager. “Voters will see right through this.”

Supervisor Gloria Molina, who has endorsed Block, cautioned against such intervention by the board.

“I think that the voters would be very uncomfortable if all this was a place-holder situation,” Molina said. “I’m not supportive of an appointment at all.”

County Counsel Lloyd W. Pellman said that if Block dies and wins the election, the supervisors could appoint his successor for a two-year term. The last time a county took such an action, in Tehama County in 1956, the state Supreme Court upheld it.

If Block lives but is incapacitated, the supervisors could ask the attorney general to allow them to file a lawsuit to declare Block unable to perform his job, Pellman said.

The board could then select a replacement.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said there was little the board could immediately do.

“There’s no evidence at this point to suggest he’s not going to fully recover from this,” Yaroslavsky said.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich also said he believed that Block would regain his faculties. “The sheriff has overcome adversity before,” he said.

Block remained gravely ill at USC University Hospital, where doctors, hospital spokesmen and campaign aides would not even say whether he was conscious.

They also would not say whether Block, who suffers from complete kidney failure, underwent dialysis Tuesday, as he generally does on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Still, some clues to the sheriff’s condition could be gleaned.

Dr. Srinath Samudrala, an assistant professor of neurology at USC who is part of the team treating the sheriff, said that “the sheriff’s level of alertness continues to improve.”

He would not comment on the level from which the reported improvement began.

Block campaign manager John Shallman vowed to continue the electoral fight against Baca, saying that the sheriff “is not a quitter.”

But when asked whether the sheriff himself had made that decision, Shallman conceded that he had not.

He refused to say whether the sheriff could speak, and Samudrala also declined to comment on that question.

On Tuesday, The Times reported that a medical source close to the case had said that it is possible that Block will be “significantly impaired cognitively” as a result of the hemorrhage and blood clot.

The doctor did confirm a report in The Times that a “bleed,” or hemorrhage, in the 74-year-old Block’s brain came before the sheriff slipped and fell at his West Hills home Saturday.

“I don’t believe it was the result of the fall. I believe the problem may have caused the fall,” Samudrala said at a news briefing. “There was a blood clot deep in his brain.”

The tight knot of people around the sheriff, meanwhile, continued to close ranks, and campaign mud continued to fly, as Block’s aides made good on their promise to fight on.

Shallman declined to say whether the campaign planned to tell voters whether the sheriff is conscious or not before the election.

He stuck to the claim that the sheriff had been injured in a fall, and accused the Baca camp of circulating rumors that Block had had a stroke. He also criticized Baca’s decision to cancel several fund-raising events this week and to remove references to Block from his campaign ads, calling the moves “disingenuous” attempts at gaining publicity from the sheriff’s condition.

Block’s supporters have said repeatedly that they would prefer to elect the incumbent even if he is incapacitated or dies, just to keep the office from Baca.

“I think that it [Block’s health] is a factor,” Shallman said. “But this race isn’t just about saying yes to Sherman Block. It’s about saying no to Lee Baca.”

The supervisors opened their public session Tuesday with a prayer for Block.

Despite the television crews swarming the board chambers and aides whispering about the situation, board members did not discuss Block’s condition in open session.

However, in interviews, all five members have expressed confidence that Block will recover.