Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Paul Tanaka for LA County Sheriff

 
If it isn't obvious by now. . .
 
I endorse Paul Tanaka for LA County Sheriff.
 
Having investigated the ins and outs of the whole Baca-Blue Ribbon Commission - Abuse controversy, I am more concerned than ever about a widespread media bias which slams anyone who is pro Second Amendment as well as fiscally conservative.
 
There is one reporter at the LA Weekly covering Tanaka and "exposing" a culture of abuse. . .and that's it.
 
The reports from individual sheriffs, as well as leaders in the organization frustrated with Lee Baca, to residents throughout Gardena and LA County suggest that Tanaka is the best man for the job.
 
The LA Times, however, has shaped much of the opinion about Tanaka so far. The periodical has become notably (and notoriously) biased toward Republicans, conservatives, and limited government advocates in general. Openly gay, pro-choice Republican LA mayoral candidate Kevin James faced nothing but indicts and scathing criticism in his mayoral run in 2013.
 
No one should be surprised to see the paper dump on the Gardena mayor, either.
 
I am convinced that Tanaka's win on June 3rd will be one more nail in the coffin for the LA Times, and perhaps LA Weekly should local journalism insist on negative, biased (even bullying?) smears which are unfounded and unsubstantiated.
 
At any rate, from his full and concise answers to my questions, to the evidence which doesn't add up in the press against the man, I saw less of a reason to oppose his run for office.
 
Based on the individual reports as well as taking into account the basic illogic of the allegations against the Gardena mayor, there is no reason not to endorse him.
 
His record on bringing Gardena and the LA County Sheriff's Department from bankruptcy to financial stability cannot be ignored. I believe that he will clean house in the LA County Sheriff's Department when elected.
 
Please vote for Paul Tanaka for LA County Sheriff on June 3rd.



48 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  2. Paul Tanaka has my vote!

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  3. Thanks for citing a nearly-18-month old LA Weekly piece. You are as behind the times as is to be expected of a drooling right-winger.

    Funny picture. Who's the doofus with the little guy, anyway?

    On the record:

    *"He's got a terrible temper, and a little-man complex. If he doesn't like something he'll start yelling at you," says Chuck Jackson, a chief who retired, in large part due to Baca's increasing dependence on Tanaka.
    *In the judgment of the independent Citizens' Commission on Jail Violence, Tanaka is largely responsible for the sadism that goes on behind bars. "Tanaka should take his retirement," says Jerry Harper, who was undersheriff for Baca's predecessor, Sherman Block. "The department would be much better off if he did that."

    BTW, Artie--you live in Torrance. Worry about your own Barney Fifes.

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  4. ...or perhaps you read the March '14 LAW piece where Little Napolean waxed poetic on the beauty of concealed carry, taking the idiotic Wayne LaPierre's position that we'd all benefit by living in a modern-day Wild, Wild West? Or these excerpts, from WitnessLA:

    Another former command staffer agrees. “The attitude is always that Lee has to be ‘handled.’”
    With this informational control, plus control of most of the LASD departments that oversee revenue streams and resource allocation, Tanaka has obtained power in the department that often far outstrips his rank.
    Our sources on these matters are all either current or former LASD members with deep internal knowledge of the department. They range from retired LASD higher-ups who worked alongside Tanaka for years to current members of the force who are fed up with the state of the department.
    No matter the departmental rank, all our sources tell us the same thing: Long before Tanaka officially inherited the No. 2 spot there were already two camps inside the Sheriff’s Department—those “in the car” with Tanaka and those on the outside. Those outside the car can be “rolled up”—meaning transferred to department backwaters—if they cross Tanaka, regardless of their performance on the job. Those in the car with Tanaka are promoted quickly and insulated from performance failures. For years, Lee Baca has, with few exceptions, granted Tanaka the power to pick and choose what supervisors get promoted and where they’re placed—even in units over which Tanaka has no formal organizational control.
    Furthermore, our sources allege a pay-to-play-like promotional system headed by Tanaka—whereby donors to Tanaka’s Gardena political campaigns have moved up the ranks faster than nondonors, even when the nondonors are more qualified. Campaign finance records we acquired from Tanaka’s Gardena political campaigns through Public Records Act requests, together with internal Sheriff’s Department documents obtained by the LA Justice Report, back our sources’ contentions. Tanaka campaign donors—often with troubled or mediocre service records—have found themselves in critical supervisory positions in the department in lieu of more qualified individuals. The result of this in-crowd/out-crowd system is a department beset by violence in its jails, insubordination in its ranks and multiple federal investigations into criminal misdeeds—a large part of which, argue our sources, can be traced to Paul Tanaka’s rise.

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  5. Or this:

    For one of the most powerful men in Los Angeles law enforcement, Paul Tanaka keeps a remarkably low public profile. He avoids the media whenever possible, preferring to operate behind the scenes. When Baca recently gave a press conference to address media reports of uncontrolled violence within the L.A. County jail system, the sheriff stood flanked by all of his command staff—except Tanaka, who was conspicuously absent, especially considering how Baca had appointed him to lead the departmental investigation into the jail situation.
    (Tanaka declined to comment for this story.)

    “Baca plucked him up from obscurity,” says a source who is a contemporary of Tanaka’s in the department. “He was going nowhere under Sheriff Block.”
    Tanaka’s career reportedly stalled under Block largely because of his involvement in the 1988 shooting death of Korean immigrant Hong Pyo Lee. Tanaka was one of five deputies who shot the 21-year-old 15 times after a car chase left Hong cornered at a dead-end street.
    A Long Beach police officer who witnessed the shooting told investigators he “just observed the sheriffs execute somebody.”
    L.A. County paid out $999,999 in a settlement with Hong’s family. Tanaka and his fellow deputies were cleared of all charges. But Block had to do major community damage control—especially after it was revealed that Tanaka had a Viking tattoo, the insignia of a controversial deputy clique that a federal judge once labeled a “neo-Nazi white supremacist gang.”

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    1. Fifteen times or nine times? Right away, the details are not adding up.

      The photos of the Korean were never released -- unless someone stole them. . .

      And you are claiming his supposed membership in a supremacist gang. . .really? He's not even white!

      I read that page - the same page which tried to post His Carson photo with the Vikings Logo -- guilt by association?

      Not even close.

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  6. Then there's cronyism!

    In a back courtyard of the COPS Bureau at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department headquarters building in Monterey Park sits a quiet area reserved for LASD personnel. (COPS oversees federally funded community policing teams and other specialized units.) Technically you could call the area a smoking patio, but the space is not your typical civil servant’s break room. The patio is tented and climate controlled, complete with a refrigerator, a sink, a barbeque island and an elaborate cigar-smoking section. Sources say its construction cost upward of $25,000.
    But there’s a catch. Not all members of the Sheriff’s Department are allowed access to this pleasantly appointed enclave. Since its construction sometime in 2008, the patio has reportedly been reserved exclusively for friends and allies of Paul Tanaka.
    “I would classify the patio as an executive meeting space,” says LASD spokesman Captain Mike Parker. “Can any member of the department hang out at the patio? No. But they wouldn’t have access to an executive meeting room either.”
    But there’s more to the patio than simple executive privilege. There’s only one entrance to the smoking patio—directly through the COPS Bureau captain’s personal office. To use the facility, sheriff’s deputies need a unique coin—known as a “challenge coin”—or someone with a coin must accompany the deputy. Each of these coins is presented to the bearer by Tanaka himself. The LA Justice Report has obtained photographs of the smoking club coins from two different sources. The front bears the emblem of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, bracketed by the words “Ramona Blvd. Smoking Patio.” The back features a picture of a cigar wrapped in a leaf, encircled by the names of various LASD divisions.
    Tanaka gives out these coins to only a selected few, and each coin is serially numbered, in part, so no forgeries can be made, but mostly to emphasize the special nature of the talismans. They are earned, say sources, through loyalty to Paul Tanaka.
    “I can’t prove it, but from what I’ve observed, there are two ways to get ahead in this department,” says retired LASD commander Bob Olmsted. “The official way is the civil service way of solid performance reviews, expected performance and various forms of testing. The real way is to become a ‘Tanaka boy’—by volunteering and donating to his campaign and smoking cigars with his inner circle.”

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  7. Cronyism, cronyism, cronyism!

    To be sure, most of those in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department are dedicated, hard working men and women who are deserving of their promotions—likely including many of those who are part of Paul Tanaka’s inner circle. Yet, the perception—and evidence— that in crucial areas of the department one man’s power and influence supersedes all else, to the LASD’s detriment, is difficult to ignore.
    Three months ago, in the wake of investigations into the violent treatment of inmates by sheriff’s deputies inside the L.A. County jail system by the LA Justice Report, the ACLU, the L.A. Times and other media outlets, and by the FBI, Lee Baca promised to appoint an internal LASD investigatory panel to look into the dangerous state of the county’s jails. Baca made good on his word. On October 9 he announced that he had convened a “Special Jail Investigations Task Force” with a staff of 35 full-time deputies to get to the bottom of what was happening in his jails.
    The man Baca selected to head that task force? Paul Tanaka.
    Underneath Tanaka on the task force is Assistant Sheriff Cecil Rhambo—who is Tanaka’s oldest friend in the department. The two were once deputy squad car partners. Rhambo has been generously donating to Tanaka’s campaign since 1998. Filling out the task force are commanders Eric Parra, Joseph Fennel, Christy Guyovich and James Hellmold—all of whom are longtime Tanaka campaign contributors; and all but Parra are reportedly Tanaka’s closest allies in the department.
    Says one LASD supervisor of the new Tanaka-led investigative group: “It’s like sending the wolves in to figure out what happened to the henhouse.”

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  8. I have not decided on whom I will be endorsing as of May 28, 2014.

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  9. Peter, be sure to get up to date on the obstruction probe ensnaring Tanaka. As WitnessLA notes:

    PAUL TANAKA IS SUBJECT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, SAYS PROSECUTOR
    On Monday in federal courtroom fifteen, it was a few minutes past 8 am, and Paul Tanaka had just taken the stand to finish up his testimony.
    The former undersheriff had been subpoenaed as a witness for the defense in the trial of Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputy James Sexton, one of seven department members indicted for obstruction of justice for allegedly hiding federal informant Anthony Brown from his FBI handlers.
    On Friday Tanaka was questioned by Sexton’s attorney, former U.S. Attorney, Thomas O’Brien.
    Now it was time for cross examination, with Brandon Fox questioning Tanaka for the prosecution.
    Fox’s first question was nothing that anyone expected.
    “Mr. Tanaka, you are aware that you are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation?”
    Yes, Tanaka answered.

    The LA Times adds:
    Former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka and a sheriff's captain are being investigated for their alleged roles in hiding a jail inmate from federal authorities, a prosecutor revealed in court Monday.

    Seven low-ranking Los Angeles County sheriff's officials are being tried this month on federal obstruction-of-justice charges. The statements from the prosecutor at one of the trials are a sign that high-ranking supervisors remain under scrutiny.

    There's much more on Tanaka than Schaper's love letter. Be sure to check it out for yourself before voting for this proponent of the Old Boy's Network, cronyism, and abuse.

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  10. Paul Tanaka--Pay to Play: http://witnessla.com/lasd/2012/admin/pay-to-play-does-the-los-angeles-sheriffs-department-have-an-unofficial-quid-pro-quo-promotion-system-by-matthew-fleischer/

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  11. Pay-to-Play, from "Gardena Watch" ,arch 2013:

    "...Paul Tanaka said that he has no plans to run for Los Angeles County Sheriff...But then again, Tanaka also said repeatedly that he was not running for Mayor of Gardena.”

    HE’S OUT Undersheriff Paul Tanaka, the #2 person in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department command structure, right under Sheriff Lee Baca, announced his resignation on Wednesday during the sheriff’s Executive Planning Committee. Department sources said that the announcement was stunningly unexpected, and was greeted by most in the room with genuine shock. A press release was hastily put out on Wed mid-afternoon. It began: Undersheriff Paul Tanaka today announced his retirement to the Sheriff and the Department’s executive staff. His retirement will be effective August 1, 2013…. The August 1 exit date was likely picked because it is shortly after the undersheriff’s 55th birthday in July. Fifty-five is the magic age for LA County employees who wish to get their full retirement. The undersheriff has been with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for 33 years. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHYS AND WHEREFORES Of course the real question is not so much when Mr. Tanaka is leaving, as it is why? It is hard to find a more polarizing figure in contemporary Los Angeles law enforcement than Paul Tanaka. Until recently, Tanaka has been viewed as a sort-of shadow sheriff, the person behind Sheriff Lee Baca whom many saw as holding the real power in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. WitnessLA’s Matt Fleischer first broke the news in December 2011 that the largely unknown Mr. Tanaka wielded a startling amount of control in the LASD, which—-with 18,000 employees—is the largest sheriff’s department in the world, and runs the nation’s largest jail system. Since our report Tanaka has come under scrutiny by the FBI for his part in what has been described as a culture of violence inside Men’s Central Jail, and he may also be the focus of a federal grand jury probe into allegations that LASD management ordered jails personnel to hide an FBI informant from his handlers by moving the man in secret from place to place inside the county jail system, using a string of phony names and false inmate ID numbers. Starting in early 2012, WitnessLA issued a series of additional reports on what was widely perceived inside the department as a system of patronage run by Mr. Tanaka, in which loyalty and, in many cases, cash donations to Tanaka’s political campaigns, were rewarded when it came to promotions—instead of merit.

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  12. Wow -- all of these comments from detractors who have spent weeks upon weeks arguing that my posts are irrelevant and pointless. Thanks for proving yourselves wrong once again, Lee, Earl, Anonymous etc.

    I love my haters!

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Artie, you keep deleting my comments regarding your irrelevance and pointlessness and ignorant propagandizing. Thin-skinned faux-pundit, aren't ya, son?

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  14. Paul Tanaka is the subject of a federal investigation and is a shiftless, promote-my-donor-and-cronies hack.

    Case. Closed.

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    1. Subject does not equal target --- even the LA Times had to concede that fact.

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    2. Once again, Arthur, you are twisting facts to fit your narrow, fringe agenda. Here is the pertinent L.A. Times passage--in its entirety--to which you clearly refer:

      "Tanaka and Carey are “subjects” rather than “targets” of the investigation.
      But the line is blurry, with "subjects" sometimes becoming "targets" who are ultimately charged, said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School and a former federal prosecutor.
      Fox's wording indicates that the grand jury is still active and there could be more indictments coming, Levenson said."

      You need to realize that you can't make things up, Arthur. Lots of us read from a whole lot more actual news sources than you, and we are on to your shoddy "work".

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    3. Earl, you have nothing factual to say.....it's all regurgitated garbage. Do some real reporting or get a life loser.

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    4. He doesn't have a life, which is why he spins lies, distortions, and fraud. And he doesn't know who his father is, either.

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  15. With more than $900,000, former Undersheriff Paul Tanaka has raised the most money in a crowded field of candidates running for sheriff, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, a spokesman for opponent Bob Olmsted had this to say about the fundraising numbers: "With the culture of corruption and pay-to-play politics, it's not surprising that he continues to raise money from the minions and cronies that he has built a relationship with."

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  16. Wow. I was going to vote for Tanaka. Not anymore...

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    1. WitnessLA, LA Weekly, and GardenaWatch are doing fine work regarding Tanaka's brazen "pay for play" tactics, inmate abuses on his watch, possible obstruction of justice and more. Tanaka is unfit for office and Schaper's love letter is a complete and utter misrepresentation of known facts.

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  17. I have personally worked around Paul Tanaka for the last 30 years. Although he's never done anything for me, and the fact that there are so many experts on the Sheriff's Dept. but have never worked in the Sheriff's Dept. It's sad to see that so many people feel the need to spread lies about many of the candidates. Yes, Paul is short but he's never been someone that has created drama. I have had co-workers tell me he's caring and demands excellence from his people.

    Based on what I have seen for myself, if you're lazy then you probably want to stay out of his way. I do know that he is no nonsense and is very direct in what he wants. He's fair across the board. The pay to play thing is a joke. Anyone that works for the department knows that in order to get promoted you have to do well on the written test, oral interview, etc. There's just no side stepping this issue. If you didn't get promoted it's because they were not prepared. Show me someone who scored 100% across the board and didn't get promoted. You won't find them out there. When I worked the jail in 2005 - 2011, Tanaka wasn't in charge so I'm not sure why the media tried to place the blame on him.

    I'm not sure who Earl Atwood is but I do know one thing.........he or she never worked the mean streets of L.A. County. But then again, most Warriors don't sit behind a desk slinging mud.

    At the end of the day, let each candidates record stand for who they are. Only those that lack a record must bad mouth their opponents. There is plenty of drama now. It started after Tanaka left the department. Many of the executives began running a muck trying to place themselves in the position to be promoted to the 2nd in command spot. Baca saw it and promoted 2 commanders, skipping over all the Division Chiefs but that didn't even work. I speak for many on the job, we can't wait till it's over but nevertheless..........stop the lies and may the best man win.

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    1. This was great information. Thanks for sharing. Earl Atwood does not know who his father is -- that's why he acts the way he does. Cowardice with such untrammeled hatred is all to common from the left.

      Thank you!

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    2. What do the "mean streets of L.A. County" have to do with pay-to-play, cronyism, inmate abuse, etc., "Anonymous"? BTW, Schaper typically poo-poos "anonymous: comments, unless--of course--he uses them to spread his BS. Who are you, "Anonymous"? Or are you BS, too? Tanaka is UNFIT FOR OFFICE.

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  18. Thank you for sharing this information. If you can, please identify yourself in some fashion in the future.

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    1. Just a lonely deputy sheriff. My view is from the inside looking inside.

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    3. "Lonely deputy sheriff" or Tanaka's personal valet?

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    4. Lol........you should have been a stand up comedian. I am a proud American and Proud Deputy Sheriff. I would love to post my real name but I am concerned for my career. It's called career survival since I'm still in the organization. Your insults only show your true insecurities. Don't get upset that I shared my opinion. That's what democracy is all about. Let me ask you, did Tanaka do something to you personally? Help me understand all of your anger.

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  19. I spoke with my father last night about meeting with Paul Tanaka. "I got to take a photo with the Mayor of Gardena!"

    My Dad corrected me: "No, he got to take a photo with you!"

    Cool!

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    1. Your dad sounds about as delusional as you. Hero worship of your subject? Actual journalists laugh at scabs like you.

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  20. Mr .T has my vote! I've spoken to him once at one of his events. I asked questions as a concerned citizen, he gave me a genuine, no BS response and was able to explain to me some concerns I had. I believe he is the best man for the job.

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  21. The fact that Tanaka stood up and testified on behalf of his personnel says it all. Baca pled the 5th and Tanaka stood tall. That says something about his character. Paul Tanaka has my vote for Sheriff!!!

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  22. Tanaka: Unfit for office.

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  23. Earl Atwood must be an only child or was picked on in grade school. That's the only his rants are somewhat understood. I feel sorry for you poor little boy.

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    1. Good one, Anonymous. He has to fight with hollow words and hate because he has no courage. I am glad for your support, and I am sure so is Paul Tanaka! Thanks again!

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    2. Arthur, your Tanaka hero worship is sooooo cute! Will you be giving ol' Paul a backrub, or only in your dreams?

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  24. Hey anonymous, be careful---your lips will get stuck on Tanaka's criminal ass.

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    1. Well sissy boy, it's very easy to be a tough guy from the office in your bedroom but once you pull your head out of your ass maybe you'll realize the underwear drawer you've been using was your sister's and not yours. Talk with you later.........I have to go take an EARL.

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  25. Hey Arthur...Paul Tanaka called. He asked if you'll still love him after his indictment! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!

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