Deputy salaries the focus of Merced supervisor candidate forum

Candidates for the Merced County Board of Supervisors discussed their stances on law enforcement pay during a forum held Saturday evening by the county’s Deputy Sheriff’s Association at the Merced Elks Lodge No. 1240.

The topic, which dominated the questions and discussion in the forum, revealed how candidates plan to address the declining number of sheriff’s deputies, many of whom are leaving the county for higher-paying jobs amid rising crime in the county.

The five candidates for the District 4 seat and three candidates for the District 2 seat attended the forum.

District 4 candidates include Fidel Cervantes, Rich Ford, Jack Mobley, Lloyd Pareira and Ramon Prado. Current District 4 supervisor Deidre Kelsey is not seeking re-election.

District 2 incumbent Hub Walsh is being challenged by Lee Lor and Casey Steed.

One of the two candidates for the District 1 seat, incumbent and board chair John Pedrozo, attended. Pedrozo’s challenger, Livingston Mayor Rodrigo Espinoza, had a prior engagement that prevented him from attending, according to Phillip Brooks, president of the Merced County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.

Brooks moderated the forum.

Brooks said the forum is normally for members of the association – notably separate from the Sheriff’s Office – to hear the candidates’ views on their issues.

But the forum was made public because of the large number of candidates.

Deputy pay

Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Taylor, who has been with the department for 22 years, told candidates about a “massive exodus” of deputies in the patrol division due to lower pay compared with other counties, which, he said, has had an effect on morale and community safety.

Taylor asked each candidate what steps they would take to rectify the issue.

Pedrozo and Walsh, the incumbents, reiterated their commitment to public safety and said progress is being made in contract negotiations with the union.

“It’s been much better than in the past,” Pedrozo said, later adding that the Board of Supervisors is alert and concerned about the loss of deputies over the last several years.

Walsh noted that the county needs to continue giving deputies the tools to succeed along with fair pay.

“I’m confident we can get a deal that works well for all of us here,” Walsh said.

Many of the challengers supported cutting administrative salaries to help pay deputies more, with some taking direct aim at the compensation for supervisors and county CEO Jim Brown, whose total compensation was $392,161, according to a Merced Sun-Star report in December.

Steed said Brown’s salary was too high compared with his peers statewide.

“We brought a guy out of retirement to be our governor for $100,000 less,” Steed said, adding that he would take that $100,000 and invest it in the Sheriff’s Office to increase retention.

Mobley said that if he is elected, he will shift his pay to the Sheriff’s Office.

“We need to look at all our salaries ... and make sure that we are competitive,” Mobley said.

Prado also criticized Brown’s salary and advocated getting rid of other items in the budget that could be handled by private entities, such as loans to the dairy industry.

“The county lives beyond its means,” Prado said, also adding that he supported supervisors sacrificing their pay to increase deputies’ pay and hire more.

Cervantes also said the county should reassess its budget priorities.

“It comes down to consensus building,” Cervantes said, regarding negotiations. “It’s going to come down to take-home pay.”

Lor and Pareira pointed to personal and economic development, respectively, as ways to help fund higher deputy pay.

“As supervisor, what I would like to do is find alternatives and find opportunities for growth, personal and professional development for staff,” Lor said.

Pareira described how lower property taxes during the recession caused a domino effect that resulted in a stagnation in deputy pay.

“Now we’re in a time where the economy has gotten better,” Pareira said. “No. 1 priority is getting some of that money to the deputies.”

Ford also said deputy pay was a top priority for the budget, noting the level of gang violence.

“We can do it, but the question is going to be ‘Who among these candidates up here do you trust to negotiate with, who will give you a fair shake?” Ford said.

Marijuana

The discussion also turned to some of the candidates’ stances on medicinal and recreational marijuana.

Cervantes, Walsh, Pareira, Ford, Steed and Lor said the rules for growing and using medicinal marijuana need to be clear and consistent throughout the county, which often differs with policies with cities in the county.

They said they were concerned with the impact unclear regulations have when police and deputies have to enforce the law.

Mobley supported a discussion but hesitated about supporting medicinal use, noting his upbringing in the South and the effect marijuana has had on family members.

Prado expressed the most support with allowing, taxing and safely regulating medicinal and recreational marijuana, adding that it was a common-sense approach based on the various uses of hemp as well as the marijuana plant’s common use.

Other topics were discussed at the forum, including the ethnic and locational diversity of deputies; farming regulations; homelessness and vagrancy; and qualifications.

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Deputy salaries the focus of Merced supervisor candidate forum."