SHERIFF GETS HEAT FROM FOES; BLOCK ON DEFENSIVE AT CANDIDATES FORUM.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Los Angeles County sheriff candidates opposing incumbent Sherman Block sharply criticized his record, putting him on the defensive during a candidates forum Monday.

The most vocal of the three candidates running against Block was Bill Baker, a 35-year-veteran deputy sheriff, who said the department lacks leadership, direction and a long-range plan.

``The Sheriff's Department, once one of the elite, one of the premier organizations in the country is no longer that,'' Baker told a group of 100 business people gathered for the luncheon, hosted by the Valley Industry and Commerce Association.

The forum also featured three state Attorney General candidates, state Sens. Charles Calderon, D-Montebello, and Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward, and Chief Deputy Attorney General David Stirling, as well as state Senate candidate Richard Katz, a former assemblyman. Senate candidate and Councilman Richard Alarcon did not attend because the council was in a budget session.

In the sheriff's race, candidates Lee Baca and Patrick Gomez talked about what they would do if elected, but were not as vociferous as Baker, who described himself as the only true advocate for change.

``One has to look at records, one has to look at the fact that over 40 percent of the executive staff of Sherman Block do not support him,'' said Baker, who retired in 1995 as chief of the sheriff's detective division.

Block defended his tenure by pointing to the department's partnership with communities to make neighborhoods safe, youth programs involving 120,000 youngsters and a risk-management program that he said has saved the county $72 million since 1992 in liability costs.

``We still are a pre-eminent law enforcement agency in the United States,'' Block told the audience.

Gomez criticized Block's Explorer Program, which introduces youths to law enforcement. The program's 200 graduates each year are not enough, Gomez said.

``There are a lot of things that are right with this department as far as programs that we have in place. The problem is we are not expanding those programs'' said Gomez, a 17-year veteran of the department and a field sergeant at its Temple City station.

Baca, chief of field operations with 32 years of experience in the department, focused on his two-part plan to reduce the number of gang members in the county and promote literacy through collaborative educational and law enforcement programs.

Katz fielded questions from the audience and highlighted his record and experience.

``I believe that experience counts. I believe that you need a senator from the Valley who can hit the ground running in Sacramento, someone who has a proven track record of getting things done.''

Since 1949, VICA has worked to encourage the economic vitality and growth of the greater San Fernando Valley region.

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PHOTO From left, Lee Baca, Bill Baker, Sherman Block and Patrick Gomez face off Monday at a forum for candidates in local races.

John McCoy/Daily News