Controversies Weigh Down Block’s Bid for Reelection

His health is poor, he faces the most contentious election of his long career and on Monday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block, 73, found himself at the center of continuing controversy over his management of the department.

“It’s always been a given that the Los Angeles County sheriff would be reelected,” said Jeffrey W. Monical, a political consultant who works with various peace officer associations in the Los Angeles area. “It’s the first time in my lifetime there’s been a contested race.”

In the latest scandal to afflict the sheriff’s administration, officials disclosed that a department administrator and an independent food contractor have been arrested on bribery charges involving millions of dollars in padded contracts for jail food.

Last week, the department was hit with allegations that its deputies provoked assaults on suspected child molesters in the downtown jail. Officials there also have been criticized for providing inadequate medical and psychiatric care to inmates and for keeping some prisoners in custody too long because of paperwork problems, costing the county tens of thousands of dollars in legal settlements.

Meeting with reporters Monday, Block sought to portray himself as a leader who has taken firm control of the seemingly endless problems vexing the county’s jail system. His opponents--setting the tone for the June election--say otherwise.

“This is just another example of how Block has been a nonfeasance manager,” said retired Sheriff’s Chief Bill Baker, one of three candidates running against the sheriff. “He is simply not doing the job.”

Despite the scandals, political experts say, Block will be hard to unseat. But some have begun to think the previously unthinkable--that the sheriff could fail to get a majority of the votes in June, forcing him into a runoff election for the first time in his career.

Some department insiders wonder whether Block can physically endure a vigorous campaign. Last June, Block disclosed that he has a severe kidney problem requiring hemodialysis three times a week. Nevertheless, Block said he was determined to run for a fifth term.

“I think this will be the toughest race of his political career,” said Joe Cerrell, veteran political consultant. “The more people you throw into the race, the greater potential for a runoff is. And they all will attack him.”

However, Cerrell added: “He is still considered the overwhelming favorite. He is well liked. I don’t think many of these problems reflect on him. . . . He is the Teflon politician. They have never held him responsible as they held Daryl Gates responsible for the problems at the LAPD.”

Four years ago, Block secured 54% of the vote, with five other candidates splitting the rest. In addition to Baker, Block is being challenged this year by Sheriff’s Chief Lee Baca and Temple station Sgt. Patrick Gomez. More candidates could join the race. The filing deadline is Friday.

Gomez said he decided to run because he believes Block has failed to adequately lead the department. Referring to the recent controversies, Gomez said: “It all comes back to management and leadership. Who is overseeing these people?”

Baca, meanwhile, declined to comment on Block or the custody problems. “I have ideas and I will express them at the appropriate time,” he said.

At an afternoon news conference he called to discuss the department’s problems, Block looked indeed like a man under siege. He appeared gaunt and limped slightly from what aides said was a recent nerve injury to one of his legs that forces him to wear a leg brace.

Standing alone at a lectern, Block--who has weathered two bouts with cancer--fended off volleys of questions about problems facing the department.

Asked what he thought about the alleged bribery, Block said he felt “absolutely betrayed,” calling it “a black mark on the entire organization.” But Block said it is unfair to use the behavior of one or two problem employees to impugn the entire department.

In all of the recent controversies, Block insisted that problems appear to be significant mostly because of his aggressive actions to eradicate them once they are brought to his attention. Other managers, he suggested, would have swept them under the rug.

Asked about the succession of scandals afflicting the department, Block responded curtly. “I always take responsibility,” he said. “You never see me putting somebody else out front to deal with the media and discuss problems.”

Asked, for instance, why his department didn’t move to arrest Assistant Food Services Director Fredrick Gaio and food contractor Rick Hodgin on bribery charges until more than two years after questions were first raised about their allegedly improper relationship, Block said he had relied on his subordinates.

“We accepted what appeared to be rational explanations by the employees working there,” Block said.

Block said that Gaio’s boss, food manager Betty Starr, has been relieved of duty temporarily pending the outcome of a “very intensive” administrative investigation into the entire $20-million annual food services operation.

“We have no indication that she had any criminal culpability, and we’re not sure at this point that she is guilty of administrative failure,” Block said.

Gaio and Hodgin--who are scheduled to be arraigned March 10--could face further criminal charges in a continuing investigation, Block said. He also confirmed that the district attorney’s office is reviewing potential criminal charges against several of the food companies that Hodgin worked for, saying they wrote checks to him knowing they would be used to bribe Gaio.

Responding to another recent controversy, Block said he has intensified a criminal investigation into whether deputies encouraged trustees and other inmates to beat suspected child molesters. Over the weekend, Block said, he assigned 20 sergeants to go into the jails and interview every one of about 420 suspected child molesters, who are supposed to be kept away from the general jail population.

As of Monday, all but two dozen of the accused sex offenders had been interviewed, and Block said “about 12% indicated that at some time or to some degree, they were the victim of a beating or an assault by other inmates.”

But Block said he didn’t know who provoked those assaults or why, or whether the suspected molesters were assaulted more often than other jail inmates.

“Whether or not that was due to deputies pointing them out . . . we don’t. But that investigation is still going forward full bore.”

On Monday, as is usually the case, the county’s five elected supervisors were reluctant to criticize Block’s management. All five lawmakers have endorsed his reelection.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who called for more oversight of Block’s department in 1996, said he is satisfied with Block’s performance, especially in the 16 months since a Times series prompted the Board of Supervisors to call for an extensive audit of the sheriff and his $1-billion budget.

“The problem is not with Sherm, as much as it is with breakdowns in the lower and middle management levels of his organization,” Yaroslavsky said. “He needs to get control of that, and everything I have seen is that he has taken steps over the last 18 months to assert control over it.”