Downey or Hislop? I haven’t put in any attention to this race.
Usually you can’t take out an incumbent unless you have an issue to run on. So what is the issue? What’s the race about exactly?
Addendum: Humboldt Mirror endorses Downey.
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April 28, 2010 at 11:51 am
Mitch
Johanna.
April 28, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Fred Mangels
I guess being the Undersheriff is close enough that he could be considered the incumbent.
As I see it, there really aren’t any issues (disclosure: I’m Downey supporter). The Sheriff’s Dept. has been plugging along fairly well for some time and Downey has been part of that.
Hislop has been desperately trying to make issues and just wants the job to fulfill his illusions of grandeur. All he can do is point to his education as the reason to vote for him.
I think Downey is a natural for the job. He’s a humble, unassuming guy with an easy going live and let live attitude. I think that fits in well with Humboldt County (he used to live in Miranda and still owns the place down there, btw).
I know Plain Jane, over at Heraldo’s seems pretty impressed with the fact that Hislop went to college. I suspect others left- of- center might also be. It would be ironic to see them voting for a guy that wanted the D.A.’s investigators to be armed with assault rifles and the D.A.’s office to have their own incident command post.
I was speaking to a fairly well- know local politico a few months ago. He’s also a Downey supporter (and a friend of Hislop’s). I told him I predicted Downey would get a landslide win as I can’t imagine how anyone, other than a handful of fringe Gallegos supporters, would vote for Hislop. My friend disagreed, saying he thought it would be a close race.
We shall see. He could be right as we have so many flakes living up here now it wouldn’t surprise me if it is closer than I would of expected.
April 28, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Mike Buettner
Maybe Fred can enlighten us on Hislop’s illusions of grandeur.
April 28, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Anonymous
Fred, on the other hand, suffers from delusions of adequacy.
April 28, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Fred Mangels
He thinks he’s quite the hot shot. That’s the impression I’ve gotten from him over all the years I’ve seen him in the news. His buddy actually told me my evaluation was pretty right in there.
Here’s a guy that thinks the D.A.’s office needs to carry semi- automatic rifles and have their own special incident command post. He doesn’t even seem to have an idea of what the job of the District Attorney’s investigators office should involve, never mind the Sheriff’s Office (which he’s never worked for).
Also, for him to think that the “next logical step in my career”, as he put it, would be County Sheriff, is a bit silly. I don’t think he’s ever supervised more than 10 or 15 people.
April 28, 2010 at 2:10 pm
the reasonable anonymous
On the “And then there were three” thread, I commented on the how the sherriff candidates should be questioned about the involvement of sherriff’s deputies in some of the worst abuses of the Code Enforcement fiasco. I’m copying it here, as it relates more to the sherriff race than the DA race:
It was actually a sherriff’s deputy, not a code enforcement officer, who reportedly drew his gun on a mom, infant and child at Yee-Haw in Trinidad, one of the most egregious, and dangerous, incidents in the whole Code Cop saga. To my knowledge, that deputy was not removed and never punished for their behavior, which was conducted under the authority of the sherriff, not the DA (nor the County Counsel).
Even though the code enforcement officers themselves are no longer deputized to carry guns, they can still bring along sherriff’s deputies on inspection visits if they want to, so there is really nothing (except public pressure) to stop a similar incident from happening in the future. So questions and concerns about that incident, and others, should be directed to the candidates for Sherriff.
We need to make this an issue, and get the sherriff candidates on the record that alleged greywater violations and the like don’t justify armed raids and don’t justify treating residents, including infants and children, like dangerous criminals.
April 28, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Reporta
There are plenty of issues to consider. From what I gathered at the Fifth District Gen Plan forum, you have Trinidad considering the possibility of switching over to HCSO coverage. You have a lot of terrain to cover but not enough resources to do so adequately. So basically, how to provide adequate coverage to rural Humboldt while in a budget crisis.
Also, as reasonable anon pointed out, the code enforcement debacle has tarnished their image, I would suspect, especially in SoHum. That’s something that needs to be rectified.
Enforcement priorities and how to handle emergency planning (like a quake) could be a couple more. But unfortunately I’m not as familiar with the race as I should be either.
There is a KEET forum tonight that will probably clarify some issues.
April 28, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Reporta
There are plenty of issues to consider. From what I gathered at the Fifth District Gen Plan forum, you have Trinidad considering the possibility of switching over to HCSO coverage. You have a lot of terrain to cover but not enough resources to do so adequately. So basically, how to provide adequate coverage to rural Humboldt while in a budget crisis.
Also, as reasonable anon pointed out, the code enforcement debacle has tarnished their image, I would suspect, especially in SoHum. That’s something that needs to be rectified.
Enforcement priorities and how to handle emergency planning (like a quake) could be a couple more. But unfortunately I’m not as familiar with the race as I should be either.
There is a forum tonight on KEET that will probably clarify some issues.
April 28, 2010 at 3:29 pm
humboldturtle
Hislop’s supporters aren’t Gallegos people. Jon Lawrence? Check out his LTE’s in the TS. And the guy at Mike’s Drive-up with the Palin bumpersticker?
April 28, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Fred Mangels
…And the guy at Mike’s Drive-up with the Palin bumpersticker?.
I know one very conservative Republican gal up here who told me she was pretty sure she’d be voting for Hislop because she met his latest wife and liked her. I guess she felt she reminded her of Sarah Palin? I don’t know.
April 28, 2010 at 4:05 pm
blacklisted2
Both Hislop and Downey have said “it’s about the economy(budget),”. In all fairness, Hislop said it first.
April 28, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Matt
“Usually you can’t take out an incumbent unless you have an issue to run on. So what is the issue? What’s the race about exactly?”
- that’s basically what I asked about the DA race a few weeks ago
April 28, 2010 at 8:29 pm
Annie
How about a poll??
April 29, 2010 at 7:34 am
fustilarian
Downey is the man. Down to earth, knows Sohum and Hoopa, and sounds more college educated than Hyslop does in his interviews. Down is the best cop I have ever known. Period. Fred is correct in his appraisal.
April 29, 2010 at 7:59 am
Eric Kirk
Annie – good idea. I’ll post one tonight.
April 29, 2010 at 3:32 pm
Hmmm
Hislop’s personal goal for himself when he becomes sheriff and I quote, “To become Sheriff of the Century!” from the KEET forum dated 4/28/10
He has never managed more than 12 people nor a 26 million dollar budget! We are in the worst economic time and people want to gamble on a guy who has NO experience with a large budget!!!! Oh, unless it was the term paper he completed in school that he boastered about last night… Wow. He has never worked for the Sheriff’s Office. Will he even know where to find the bathroom, SWAP yard, Jail or out-stations?
Hislop is throwing mud to see what sticks! Last night he bellowed about how a Sergeant working for the Sheriff’s Office made over 200 grand…Well the idiot failed to tell the public was that Sergeant retired and collected his deferred comp, which is reported as income!
He is misleading the public, making statements without substance and leading people to believe he is the FIX ALL man!!
Then there are the other rumors! Just check out the Humboldt Hearld and the Mirror! The guys integrity, morals and yes, ETHICS are totally being questioned without answers!!!!!
BTW, I am voting for Downey!
April 29, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Humboldt Voter
I ask the voting public to look at these “FACTS”. There is more deputies now than the sheriff’s office had in 1994. Back then we had RESIDENT DEPUTIES who actually lived in the Resident Posts areas that they worked. I.E Orick, Orleans, Shelter Cove, Scotia, (Bridgeville which included carlotta, dinsmore, blocksburg.
Today under downey and philp there is NO resident deputies in the above areas except Shelter Cove. That position was recently filled a couple of months ago. With the exception of the Sgt in Garberville there is NO deputies that live and work out of the Garberville Substation. They drive back and forth to eureka and fortuna. So where is all the deputies that used to live and work in all these rural areas. That is the sixty four thousand dollar question. My knowledge tells me they are where the majority of the voters are.
THIS IS NOT A BUDGET ISSUE. I will say again this is not a budget issue as Downey says it is. Place a copy of the county map on the table and color the areas that we have no resident deputies in red. I suggest it covers most of the rural areas that we USED TO have resident deputies for 30 plus years or more.
Since the sheriffs department has more deputies than in 1994 a good question for downey would be, WHERE ARE THEY ALL AT. It’s not a budget issue just listen to the none answer he gives when he was asked that question. HHHMMM double talk
The bottom line is that we as rural property owners and voters deserve to have our resident deputies back where they were, and LIVING IN THE AREAS. In a recent forum Downey said that he did not want to put deputies that were not qualified in so hum but yet those same deputies work in eureka and other areas. So my question to that is if they are not qualified to work in so hum. What makes them qualified to work any where else in humboldt
My final question is what happens to so hum and all these other areas that have no resident deputies when there is a cry for help….. You just wait , wait, wait, and continue to wait and u MIGHT get a response several hours later or at all.
That is why i am willing to give my vote to hislop. to see if we can effect a change. If not we vote him out in Four years. Don’t get me wrong mike downey is the nicest guy in the world, damn nice guy. but he has not done squat for the people of the rural areas.
Just my thoughts, what are yours
April 29, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Anonymous
They are both very conservative.
April 29, 2010 at 8:53 pm
ED Denson
Downey may be the man, and I am supporting him, but the part of the debate I heard was won by Hislop hands down. He was specific, Downey sounded like an incumbent bureaucrat, and was not specific.
I’m supporting Downey because I met him on several occasions during my years with CLMP and he was straight-forward and honest. I hope that will translate into a more progressive sheriff’s department which will spend more time on crime and less on busting medical marijuana patients.
April 30, 2010 at 11:37 am
Anon
I am currently employed at the Sheriff’s Office and I support Downey. He has demonstrated he has the knowledge, insight, and most important, the experience to manage the Sheriff’s Office. It’s interesting to note that the question keeps being asked, “What are the issues in the Sheriff’s race?” I believe that’s a very telling question. It reveals that most believe there are no real issues. While improvements can always be made, Hislop keeps pounding away at the idea that the community is overwhelming crying out for change. I just don’t hear that.
I’ve listened to or watched most of the forums between these two candidates and I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Downey consistently remains calm but Hislop inevitably gets so wound up he just comes unraveled. What is he so angry about?
I support Downey as I believe he has demonstrated an understanding of complex budget issues, an understanding of county-wide law enforcement, and a sound understanding of the workings of the Sheriff’s Office. I don’t believe Hislop can offer any of these things. Thanks.
April 30, 2010 at 9:08 pm
mresquan
If Downey is elected Sheriff,will he turn over the tape of Martin Cotton to the EPD?The Sheriff’s department has been woefully disparaging on that issue.And I also remain concerned about the Grand Jury report which compared the correctional facility to Abu Garib,and am concerned that Downey may likely be a bureaucrat in defense of these situations.
Nonetheless,I’ll likely be giving him the benefit of the doubt on being a fair and effective Sheriff and voting for him.