Vote Count…Squid has been having some weird dreams lately. Maybe it’s all those Squid boats out at night, lighting up the lair—and capturing Squid’s brethren in large numbers—that have led to fitful sleep.
Or maybe it’s the will-they-or-won’t-they drama with North Korea and the potential destruction of its nuclear arsenal (not going to happen, if the fate of late, former Libya dictator Muammar Qaddafi is any indication!). Or the non-stop drama that is election season.
Squid’s colleagues invited Sheriff Steve Bernal and his challenger, Deputy Scott Davis, to a public debate. Davis eagerly said yes; Bernal, through handler David Armanasco, said no. At first Armanasco said it’s because Bernal is named in two lawsuits filed by the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the union that is supporting—in some shady ways currently under investigation—Davis’ candidacy.
So Squid checked in with County Counsel Charles McKee, who represents Bernal. While McKee declined to give specific legal advice to a cephalopod, he did say there’s no reason Bernal couldn’t do a debate, so long as it didn’t cover the pending litigation.
But when presented with this legal interpretation, Armanasco demurred again: “The sheriff’s going to pass…he’s just concentrating on being out in the community.”
Squid, ever a proponent of transparency, thinks that’s some weak sauce.
Squid was also curious about the transparency of another entity that’s deeply embroiled in the sheriff’s race, and also, apparently, inserting itself into others: the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, just at a time Squid thought its leadership might go into hibernation to try and avoid the limelight.
That didn’t stop Regina Gage, a candidate for county supervisor, from sending out a press release announcing the DSA’s support: “The Monterey County Deputy Sheriff’s Association has unanimously endorsed Regina Gage for District 2 Supervisor,” the release stated. “‘Regina Gage, an experienced public servant, has the wisdom and insight to make the right decisions as County Supervisor. We believe she will serve District 2 with distinction and honor, putting her constituents first. We are not only public safety officers, but we are also members of the community,’ wrote Acting DSA President William Hija on behalf of the DSA.”
Squid thought the whole thing was odd: Given that the California Attorney General is investigating the DSA’s payments to a Davis campaign adviser, Squid thought it was a weird endorsement to blast so proudly and so publicly.
But one detail really caught Squid’s eye: The claim that the vote was “unanimous.” A couple of DSA votes have recently come under scrutiny, and nobody on the DSA will tell Squid what they were: First, how many members voted to endorse Davis (radio silence on this one), and how many members voted to kick out the command staff from the union (similarly, radio silence).
So Squid asked both Gage and Hija: In that unanimous vote, how many members voted? Was it hundreds to zero, or two to zero?
Gage answered this way: “My support comes from all corners and I am honored to have the support of the public safety professionals that work every day to keep our communities safe.”
Hija, in keeping with the trend, replied with silence.
Even if the DSA can’t count, Squid can: Fifteen days until Election Day. That’s 15 more days of mysterious endorsements and campaign shenanigans, and probably relatively sleepless nights for Squid.