BACA'S 'UNWRITTEN RULE' MOST PROMOTED TO SHERIFF'S TOP RANKS CONTRIBUTE TO HIS CAMPAIGNS.

Byline: TROY ANDERSON

Staff Writer

Long under fire as the "sheriff to the stars," Lee Baca now faces accusations from his deputies that most of the officers he promoted to his command staff contributed to his political campaigns.

The issue was first raised by the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, which claimed that Baca has sharply increased the number of senior leadership positions since being elected in 1998 and that a large number of those positions are now held by campaign contributors.

A Daily News analysis of promotion and campaign-contribution records bear out the claim.

Of 62 sheriff's employees with ranks of captain or higher who were promoted in the past three years, 45, or 73 percent, made campaign contributions to Baca. Many did so shortly before or after their promotions.

"I'm sure (donating to Baca) is not a condition of promotion, but it's probably an unwritten rule," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies.

"And there is nothing illegal about it, as long as he doesn't make it a condition of promotion. But that doesn't mean it's appropriate."

"I think there probably should be a rule saying that members of the Sheriff's Department shouldn't be making contributions to the sheriff. It would be far better for everybody -- for his reputation and for everybody feeling more comfortable about promotions -- that you just don't give him contributions for his re-election."

The Daily News analysis found sheriff's employees contributed more than $108,000 to Baca's campaign war chest from 2004 to 2006.

"I think it smells funny," said political analyst Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California.

"In politics, perception is reality. And the perception is there is something funny going on."

'Politics by a union'

Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said Baca does not base promotional decisions on whether employees contributed to his campaign, noting that some of the sheriff's employees gave money to Baca after they were promoted.

"Obviously, this is politics," Whitmore said. "The sheriff is convinced this doesn't represent the feelings and consensus of his deputies. They know to be promoted in the Sheriff's Department is based on a person's ability, their work, their embracing of the core values and certainly not whether you donated money to his campaign."

Fernando J. Guerra, director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University, said it's difficult to imagine that sheriff's employees could buy a promotion for a contribution of less than $1,000.

"Is there a correlation? Absolutely. Is there a causation? Probably not -- meaning it makes no sense to pay to play or pay to be promoted for that little amount."

Guerra pointed out that law enforcement unions like ALADS are often critical of their leaders and try to gain an advantage in contract bargaining.

"This is pure and simple power politics by a union leader trying to embarrass management so they can better position themselves at the bargaining table."

But the Board of Supervisors recently settled an employment discrimination lawsuit for $70,000 that seems to support ALADS's claims.

2005 lawsuit

Sgt. Alexandro Villanueva filed a lawsuit against the department in 2005 alleging he was denied promotion and retaliated against after he wrote a master's thesis that was highly critical of the department's promotional practices.

The lawsuit alleged promotions were based on political patronage and campaign contributions.

Another veteran sheriff's employee, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, also claimed the promotional process is "gamed."

"Typically, if you donate to Baca's campaign, you will be deemed a political loyalist," the employee said.

In the nine years since Baca was elected, ALADS spokesman Jeffrey Monical said the sheriff has increased the ranks of chief by 38 percent, commander by 61 percent and captain by 26 percent.

"The sheriff has received numerous campaign contributions from these top executives. Many of these contributions were for the maximum allowable donation of $1,000.

"We realize that these donations are completely legal," Monical said. "However, it is troubling that the sheriff accepts money from employees whom he supervises and in some cases has unfettered discretion to promote. This certainly gives the appearance of impropriety."

Whitmore said part of the reason why the number of chiefs, commanders and captains has increased is because Baca has added new divisions to the department, such as the Office of Homeland Security and the Leadership and Training Division.

Baca -- who has faced criticism over his handling of the Paris Hilton and other celebrity cases and for being too cozy with Hollywood figures -- relies on panels of officers to make recommendations for high-level promotion and is not involved in lower-level promotions, Whitmore said.

"When he has the final say, he takes the responsibility very seriously and goes to painstaking lengths to make the right decision," he said.

"The main thing is it has nothing to do with whether you contribute, which is indicative of the 27 percent who did not and were promoted."

Monical, spokesman for the 8,000-member union, noted that police chiefs, such as Los Angeles Police Department Chief William Bratton, are limited in the kinds of personal contributions or gifts they can accept from their employees or from those seeking to do business with their departments.

"For the sake of transparency and good government, ALADS is asking the sheriff to return contributions to, and to refuse future contributions from, employees and vendors in Los Angeles County who give the appearance of buying favors," Monical said.

EEOC investigating

The controversy comes as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is investigating allegations that the department is violating federal laws regarding promotions.

The investigation, expected to be concluded soon, started in July 2003 when the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association filed a complaint with the federal EEOC alleging Latinos in the department have been denied promotions.

Alan Clayton, director of equal-opportunity employment for the Los Angeles County Chicano Employees Association, said in a county where Latinos are 47 percent of the population, only 21 percent of the department's sergeants, 14 percent of the lieutenants, 15 percent of the captains and 19 percent of the commanders are Latinos.

In comparison, 64 percent of the sergeants, 74 percent of the lieutenants, 72 percent of the captains and 59 percent of the commanders are non-Latino whites.

"We think the data clearly shows that there has been a lack of promotion of Latinos, and it appears to be such a manifest imbalance that we believe it's strong enough for the EEOC to come and say the department discriminates against Latinos in its promotions," Clayton said.

"The extremely low representation of Hispanics in the supervisory and management positions in the Sheriff's Department is outrageous and must be corrected."

troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Sheriff Lee Baca is under fire over campaign donations from promoted employees.