Steve Bernal lays out 10-year plan for county jail—and gets Deputy Sheriff's Association endorsement.

A coveted endorsement from the Deputy Sheriff's Association has gone to Steve Bernal in the campaign for sheriff. Bernal is running against Sheriff Scott Miller, who led in the four-way primary in June, but not by a big enough margin to win. 

Bernal himself is a deputy sheriff, and earned the association's endorsement with about double the vote Miller received. That marks a departure from the union's non-endorsements before the primary, in which Miller earned the most votes, but not enough for an official endorsement. 

Bernal got 114 votes; Miller got 54 votes; 13 members voted not to endorse; and 133 members did not vote. 

Miller chalked up the union's position to a memo Bernal sent out to the Corrections Operations Bureau, which is responsible for managing the county jail. 

A copy of the memo, in which Bernal lays out a 10-year plan, was obtained by the Weekly. In it, he pledges to slash internal affairs investigations into deputies. Currently, internal affairs investigations are undertaken based on inmate complaints; Bernal writes, "I will ensure that only situations in which it appears that a deputy has broken the law will be passed on to I.A." 

"The vast majority of citizen and inmate complaints have nothing to do with potential criminal violations, but deal with behaviors that potentially violate policies and procedures," according to a statement released by Miller's campaign spokesman Gregory Lee. "Under Deputy Bernal's proposal, inmates and residents could be treated rudely or unfairly, yet would not be subjected to a normal internal affairs investigation. This contradicts California law."

Bernal was not immediately available for comment Monday afternoon. 

In the memo, Bernal also says he'll also push for more sworn deputies, rather than civilian staffing, in certain jail positions. Facing big budget cuts, Miller has kept certain positions staffed by replacing them with civilians.

He also lays out his position against AB 109, the state's prison realignment program that reduces the state prison population by sending some inmates to county jails.

"I would partner with legislators who oppose prison realignment and work to put dangerous felons back where they belong, IN PRISON! 

"Sheriff Miller supports AB 109 and thus is turning our county jail into a prison, housing long-term violent felons who have nothing better to do than figure out ways to end your career, or worse yet, see to it you don't make it home from your shift to ever see your families again."

Miller has been looking for ways to house released state prison inmates, who are generally serving longer sentences than county jail inmates. 

Part of that is a jail expansion, an $89 million proposed project. A draft environmental impact report for the jail expansion is currently being circulated for public comment. 

AB 109 was the state's response to a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling requiring California to reduced its prison population by 30 percent to resolve overcrowding, associated with unsafe conditions for inmates.