Dual initiative drive casts Baca as leader--or empire builder.

In a desperate search for funds, L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca has thrown his weight behind two controversial ballot initiatives that would funnel tax dollars toward his department and other law enforcement agencies.

The efforts, rare for a local law enforcement official, have opened him up to criticisms--of empire-building on the one hand, and in the case of the gaming initiative he's co-sponsored, of promoting activities that would draw crime.

The statewide initiative, which would expand gaming unless Indian tribes fork over more of their gaming revenues, has set him against his own state Association of Police Chiefs, which has come out in opposition.

The other initiative, which has drawn support from local law enforcement officials, would raise the sales tax in Los Angeles County by half a percentage point.

Both are aimed for the November ballot.

In an interview last week, Baca defended his efforts, making a case for his department's needs and calling the gambling concerns overblown. His arguments have persuaded some a joint presentation with his co-sponsor, Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas, convinced the California State Sheriff's Association earlier this month to shift its opposition to the gaming measure to a "neutral" stance.

"We've lost $166 million and over 1,000 deputy positions in the past two years," he said. "We just can't go on like this."

Regardless of the outcome, Baca has raised the profile of his office in a way not seen for decades.

"Past sheriffs here in the county have been powerful behind the scenes, but Sheriff Baca is now emerging as a powerful public figure, and that's unusual for Los Angeles County," said Bob Stern, president of the Center for Government Studies, a political watchdog group in Los Angeles.

Making a case

With the loss of $166 million in the past two years and the prospect of tens of millions of dollars in additional cuts next year, Baca sees the initiatives as a way to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into his and other local law enforcement agencies.

The sales-tax measure would hike L.A. County's sales tax a half-percent to bring in $500 million more each year for local law enforcement agencies.

This proposed initiative has the support of L.A. Police Chief William Bratton and a host of other local law enforcement officials, though it still faces an uphill battle among voters.

The gambling initiative is more controversial. It says that if the state's Indian tribes don't agree to turn over one-third of the winnings from their gaming operations to the state, then 30,000 slot machines could be set up at five racetracks and 11 card clubs. Two of the racetracks and six of the card clubs would be in L.A. County; most of those are in cities patrolled by sheriff's deputies.

About one-third of the anticipated $1 billion a year generated by the slot machines would go to law enforcement agencies, including tens of millions of dollars for Baca's own department, which has a $1.65 billion budget.

The revenues from these initiatives are essential to fund the hiring of more officers at his and other law enforcement agencies, Baca said.

"Funding for public safety in L.A. County for the past 13 years has been rather anemic."

To address the gang problem, L.A. County law enforcement agencies need another 4,000 officers on the streets, Baca maintains. Within the Sheriff's Department, he said he needs to increase the number of deputies from 8,400 to 10,000.

"This is just not going to happen in the current economic and fiscal environment," he said.

'Empire building'

Baca's unorthodox approach has drawn criticism from several corners.

"The Sheriff looks like he wants to go off and create his own fiefdom with independent revenue sources," said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which is opposing the sales tax initiative. "Money decisions really should be left up to the County Board of Supervisors. What he's doing appears to many of us as empire building."

Baca dismisses suggestions that his motives are suspect. "This is not about me, and a self-serving cause. It's for all the citizens of Los Angeles County."

Regardless, he has split the law enforcement community with his active support of the gaming initiative.

"The experience of Atlantic City provides a sobering preview of the crime problems that await California if the casino initiative is adopted," said Rick TerBorch, president of the state Association of Police Chiefs in a statement released last month. "Proponents of the casino gambling initiative want to buy your vote by promising much-needed tax revenue to California. But the threat to public safety is too high a price to pay in return."

TerBorch, who is police chief of Arroyo Grande, stepped down from the post last week after completing his one-year term. He did not return calls.

Baca's fellow sheriffs also took an early advisory position opposing the initiative. Only after Baca and Blanas made a three-hour presentation to the board of the California State Sheriffs Association on Feb. 5 did the group shift from "oppose" to "neutral."

"Sheriffs Baca and Blanas made a very compelling presentation," said Nick Warner, legislative director for the sheriff's association. They were able to convince others that the measure "is a way to break the Indian tribe monopoly and pay for much-needed services," Warner said.

Impact on crime

Baca said the concerns about an increase in crime are overblown.

"Look, Atlantic City was crime-ridden before it had gaming, so gaming did not cause the crime there," Baca said.

Baca also said legal loopholes that allowed, for instance, organized crime to allegedly infiltrate the Bicycle Club Casino in the late 1980s, have been resolved. (The allegations prompted the federal government to take over the operation of the club.)

"There were mistakes that had been made in the past when it comes to gaming and card parlors. But those mistakes have been discovered and the wrongdoers have been punished and we have learned from those experiences," he said.

Whatever the merits, Baca faces a Herculean task in getting both initiatives passed. Assuming they make the November ballot, they will be competing for voter attention with a host of similar measures at a time when the economy is far from robust.

In many cases, when confronted with multiple measures on an issue, voters reject them all.

"I admire his willingness to lead on these issues, but I think there's a chance he may be overreaching here," Stern said. "It would have been better for him to choose one or the other. I believe his priority as a local elected official should have been the local sales tax hike."