Santa Paula Has a Right to Know

The clumsy way Bob Gonzales came to be Santa Paula’s new police chief is just the latest evidence of the gap between municipal leaders and their city.

City Manager Peter Cosentini and City Council members apparently were the last people in town to recognize that Gonzales was the right person to replace retiring Chief Walt Adair.

A Santa Paula native deeply involved in community activities, a 26-year veteran of the force and one of its two commanders, Gonzales, 48, is a popular figure in the city. He is especially well known and admired in the Latino community, which makes up a majority of the population and is most directly affected by the city’s stubborn gang problem.

A six-month search for a chief to succeed Adair produced three finalists--Gonzales among them. But after the other two turned down the city’s offer, reportedly because the pay was too low, Cosentini proposed raising the salary and expanding the search.

Only after a public outcry and picketing of the City Council by police officers did Cosentini do the right thing and appoint Gonzales chief.

It’s a tough job. Santa Paula’s police force still has the same number of sworn officers--29--it had in 1972. They have been working without a contract for more than a year amid often acrimonious relations with Chief Adair. And at a time when most of Ventura County is enjoying the lowest crime rates in 30 years, crime in Santa Paula has increased: 38% more violent crime in 1998 than in 1997.

We wish soon-to-be Chief Gonzales good fortune and citywide support as he tackles these challenges within the very real limits of Santa Paula’s relatively low incomes and weak economy.

And as we have done before, we urge the Santa Paula City Council and its city manager to stop hiding their decision-making behind closed doors. The public has a right to know what its leaders are doing and why--especially when their actions appear to confirm the community’s worst suspicions.