Note: Last week the Arcata Eye Issue Scrutinizers asked the seven City Council candidates a number of questions ranging from serious to supercilious. Of the seven candidates, one man and one man alone had the courage to answer some of the questions and ignore the rest in time for pre-election print publication. That man is Dave Meserve. And what did it get him? Spiked – by the Monday advent of a column suddenly submitted by former District Attorney candidate Paul Hagen. Hagen, who had been out of town, wanted to respond to a political bid for his supporters which had appeared in the Oct. 20 edition. The last-minute change-out required retooling of three newspaper pages, and this piece by diligent Dave (as well as Beverly Hale’s weekly column) was thrown overboard for space. A separate opinion column by Meserve did get published in the Oct. 27 edition. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right, but it was a deadline decision. Other candidates submitted their more languidly-timed responses after deadline, and those appear in the Scrutinizer comment section. – Ed.

Dave’s Scrutinizer responses

What do you do to calm yourself when someone disagrees with you or attacks you at council meetings (if already a member) or in similar stressful situations?

I say to myself, over and over, “I shall not cherish hatred, anger or displeasure.”

Being on the Arcata City Council isn’t just reading your packet and attending the City Council meetings, do you really know what you are getting into?

Yes, I’ve been there and know that it requires at least 20 hours per week in order to do a good job. This involves not only a thorough reading of the packet, but also meeting with community members to address their concerns and working with council members and other elected officials to accomplish regional goals.

Are you committed to serving out the full term you want us to hire you for?

Yes, I am committed to serving out the full term.

Will you be vigilant to see that staff and outside consultant information provided in reports does not include unsupported opinion?

Staff reports are an important part of our decision making, but I would never rely entirely on the staff report, without also seeking independent analysis from other on-the-ground sources. It is important to make sure that staff reports are based on fact and not opinion.

One City Councilmember alone can do nothing. How do you see yourself working and collaborating with at least two or three councilmembers, not running for election, to form a majority?

I would partner with one other councilmember, choosing different ones on different issues. I look forward to working with Michael Winkler on energy issues, Susan Ornelas on regional self-sufficiency, Shane Brinton on living wage jobs and housing, and Alex Stillman on supporting local business and light industry.

What expenses in the City budget will you propose reducing or eliminating?

The answer to government deficits is not to cut programs, but to develop innovative sources of new income, especially from the very wealthy and corporate entities. We need to recognize the importance of the great people who staff our city departments and recognize the hard work that they do for our community.

Who is you favorite Beatle?

John.

What three things things do you hope to accomplish in your first (or next) term?

Bike and pedestrian trail to Eureka, downtown restrooms, better cooperation with the North Coast Resource Center and other social action non-profits. Beyond those three, we also need to put effort into regional energy self-sufficiency as a long term goal, based on renewable generation like wind, solar and wave.

I’m very curious about the City Council candidates’ views on both the General Plan and on development in general.

I support County Sketch plan A and adhering to the Arcata General Plan. We need to focus on infill development and retain agricultural land for food production.

What is your plan for supporting the struggling middle class?

I support providing affordable housing for all income levels, from emergency through middle income. People who work in Arcata should be able to afford living here. Specifically I would raise the affordable housing Inclusionary Zoning from 15 percent to 20 percent and work on a Renters’ Bill of Rights.

Submit Article to:

Eye Correspondent

HUMBOLDT – A DA candidate’s belief that Eureka humanitarian Betty Chinn was the target of politically-related “harassment” has been refuted by Chinn.

Chinn had been listed as one of DA candidate Allison Jackson’s endorsers on her campaign website but Chinn’s name was recently removed from the list. Asked why, Jackson e-mailed a statement explaining that Chinn’s “public support was impacting her personally” and so her name was removed.

“I am deeply troubled that she has had to endure any type of harassment due to her support of me in this election,” said Jackson.

But Chinn said that she asked that her name be removed because she didn’t intend to be an endorser. “I stay out of politics,” she said. “It’s not my area, my area is helping the poor.”

Chinn also wants to clarify that she hasn’t had to deal with any harassment. “This is a loving community and to come out and say that I’ve been harassed is not true,” she said. “I came here from communist China, I’ve never felt that I’ve been mistreated by anyone here.”

The first and only time Chinn met Jackson was at an event last February, Chinn continued. “I never said I support her, I did say that I admire her and what she’s doing,” she said, adding that the feedback she got after being listed on Jackson’s website was benign.

“Some people did tell me, ‘Betty, I know you never get involved in politics,’” Chinn said.

How did the supposed endorsement emerge and what constituted the perception of harassment? Jackson said that Chinn was with Rex Bohn, one of her friends, when they met last February. “I asked Rex to contact her to ask if I could use her name and was told that she supports me,” Jackson continued.

She said that in mid-May, Chinn left a phone message indicating she wanted her name removed. When Jackson asked Bohn about it, “All I was told was that she’d received numerous contacts who told her it could jeopardize her work,” Jackson said.

She said she wrote Chinn a letter thanking her and explaining that “I felt ill that anything from this could affect her work because I care about her so deeply,” Jackson continued.

Attributing the situation to miscommunication, Jackson emphasized that she truly believed Chinn had endorsed her and that after hearing she’d gotten numerous phone calls about it, she was concerned for her.

“I am deeply saddened by all of this and the way it’s been spun,” said Jackson.

Submit Article to:

Eye Editor

BAYSIDE – Area animal welfare activists co-sponsored a forum for the four candidates for Humboldt County District Attorney Friday, April 16 evening at the Humboldt Area Foundation. It’s fair to say that the fur flew.

“We want to make sure that people know you can’t abuse animals in Humboldt County,” said Cynthia Ryan, executive director of the Sequoia Humane Society. She presented the candidates – Kathleen Bryson, Paul Hagen, Allison Jackson and Paul Gallegos – with a list of topics to address. These had to do with the candidates’ policies toward animal abuse, prosecution of suspects and ways to improve enforcement.

The DA candidates participated in a forum at the Community Center Thursday, April 15, sponsored by the Redwood Chapter ACLU. Unknown to the two dozen or so attendees was that most of the forum was unwatchable on Access Humboldt Channel 12. The candidates’ responses to questions were plagued by blackouts, screen freezes, Please Stand By notices, intermittent audio and heavy off-camera whispering by the video staff. Above, a typical scene from the ACLU forum. KLH | Eye

An hour of socializing preceded the candidates’ presentations. Attendees munched meatless snacks and quaffed the abundant wine and beer as the DA hopefuls filtered in.

Each candidate had 15 minutes to make their case to attendees, which included members of the Humboldt Vegetarian Society, various animal rescue organizations and free-range animal activists.

Kathleen Bryson

First up was former Humboldt prosecutor, now private attorney Kathleen Bryson. “Animals are close to all of our hearts,” she said. “These are member of our family… They’re a person who needs our protection.”

From an adjacent room, Bryson produced her animal companion, Latte, a Lab/Shar-Pei mix, standing the confused dog up on his hind legs for a reluctant display of furry fealty. For the rest of the evening, though, Bryson was brushing whisps of fur off her black pantsuit.

During her time as a deputy district attorney, Bryson said, she took animal abuse “very seriously.”

She said she understands the value of animal companionship. She has volunteered, she said, with the Heart if the Redwoods horse rehabilitation group.

“They mean a lot to the elderly,” she said.  “It lifts the day of an elderly person.”

At one point one of the small, pesky flies in the room buzzed Bryson, but she chose not to murder the micro-menace in front of a room full of animal lovers. “We’ve got bugs flying in this room but I won’t squash it,” Bryson said to laughter from the audience.

She said animal cruelty can be abated the same ways other crimes are – with citizen involvement.

“Pet owners can be vigilant in their own neighborhoods,” she said.

Bryson then went into differences between criminal and civil litigation, and possibilities for restitution. Emotional losses are not quantifiable, but can be compensated via civil litigation.

Bryson lamented that Humboldt has no level 1 or level 2 animal control.

She said her goal as DA would be to cooperate closely with police agencies on animal cases and to supplement enforcement and prosecution with the use of experts.

Kathleen Bryson with Latte.

Paul Gallegos

Incumbent District Attorney Paul Gallegos said that “animal abuse cases are a priority in the DAs office.”

He said that both passive and willful neglect constitute abuse, and shouldn’t be ignored, as it may indicate other forms of crime.

“We see that as a measure of violence against human beings,” Gallegos said.

Another behavior, animal hoarding, is associated with mental health issues and explains the case of Elsie Smith, a woman responsible for starving dozens of horses in Miranda. Gallegos said Smith was mentally ill, “not a bad person” and shouldn’t go to prison. In cases like hers, treatment and education are preferred.

Gallegos said that he’s 48 years of age, the ninth of 11 kids in his family and has had animals all his life. “I love animals, I’ve grown up around animals,” he said “I continue to have animals.”

Saying that animal protection is “a priority,” Gallegos said plainly that “my first responsibility is the people of Humboldt County. People.”

While animal mistreatment is intolerable, Gallegos said, “I do not put that in the same category as someone doing violence against people. I don’t because I can’t.”

The law, he said, dictates his response, starting with sufficient admissible evidence to get a verdict of 12 people beyond a reasonable doubt. Further, he said, restitution is determined by law.”

Despite scant resources, Gallegos urged citizens to get involved in cases of animal abuse. “Reach out and contact us,” he said. “We aren’t perfect, but we do care. This is a community problem that will only be solved with community participation. Bring us evidence.”

DA Paul Gallegos shows pictures of his pets on his phone to Kim Class, director of the Companion Animal Foundation.

Evidence was the weak link in the case of Ray Christie, found with 1,300 roosters and numerous cockfighting implements. Some attendees had discussed the case, with disparaging comments about Gallegos, prior to the actual forum.

“There was not a shred of evidence of actual cockfighting,” Gallegos said. “The drugs and blades were circumstantial.”

In the end, Christie pleaded guilty to possession of cockfighting knives. “That’s what the process did,” Gallegos said. “It was not from lack of commitment.”

Paul Hagen

Unlike those who spoke before him, former environmental prosecutor Paul Hagen didn’t make any effort to position himself as an animal lover. Instead, he started by saying that he isn’t one.

“I don’t have any anecdotes or homilies to tell you,” Hagen said. As a child, he said he had a dog. His kids have had rats and hamsters, but they died.

“I’m not that well connected with animals or plants,” Hagen told the crowd. “I don’t have the compass inside that you do, but I salute you.”

He said he detected a “sense of disempowerment, that the law doesn’t provide for you” among the animal welfare community. “I want to help you to feel empowered.”

Hagen portrayed himself not as an animal fan, but as a legal eagle with a firm grasp of the rules and procedures required to gain convictions.

Hagen detailed his background as an environmental prosecutor for 11 years, first in Mendocino, then as a circuit prosecutor for the California District Attorney’s Association in four counties.

“Environmental cases are off the beaten path in the prosecutor’s office,” he said. Everyday cases are things like DUIs, then extraordinary cases of rape and violence, then unusual cases. But, he said, the procedures are the same.

“Everyone has in their heart compassion,” Hagen said. “You do not have to be a vet or police officer to make these cases.”

He said he looked for two things to bring suspects to trial, then prosecute and convict them.

First, “the boss does not say no and would allow it.” Second, he said, “You had to have gotta-wanna.” That is, enthusiasm.

“The way people treat animals is indicative of the way they treat people,” Hagen said. “Animals are a form of people. They are like humans in another form of body.”

That statement was well received by the room full of beast friends, who responded with enthusiastic applause.

He said that he didn’t know the legal nitty-gritty of Smith and Christie cases and wouldn’t second guess the way they were handled.

“You’re intelligent and caring people,” Hagen concluded.

He encouraged those concerned to dialogue with relevant authorities such as police and the state Dept. of Fish and Game.

“It can be done, all you have to do is make sure that the powers that be are aligned with you,” Hagen said. “That’s what I will do.”

Paul Hagen and Allison Jackson. Most of the DA candidates mingled freely, with the exception of the incumbent, Gallegos, possibly because the three challengers have all based their campaigns to some degree on questions about his effectiveness, if not competence.

Allison Jackson

Allison Jackson wasn’t shy about her animal compassion connections. “The rescue community is a very special one,” she said. “It has demands and pressures that others not involved don’t understand.”

She said she had helped form Carly’s Ride, a group providing transportation for rescued animals to willing adopters.

Jackson said she’s owned three rescue dogs, two of whom had trauma issues. She related tales of animal ownership that clearly found resonance with attendees..

“It’s vital that the district attorney be sensitive to capacity issues at the shelter,” Jackson said. That, she said, will minimize euthanization.

She said abuse held important “nuances” beyond the obvious  suffering of animals.

“Animal abusers move on to offending against humans,” she said. “Often they pick on children and women.”

For 20 years, Jackson said, she has been a “staunch advocate” for innocent victims, with focus on  special victims cases – child, sexual, elderly and animals.

She said she that in the 1990s, she argued to then-DA Terry Farmer to prosecute an animal abuse case.

“I have an incredible reputation among shelter and animal rescue workers,” she said.

The “vast majority of cases are uncharged or languish for months before being prosecuted,”Jackson said. “Only high profile cases are prosecuted.”

A case of neglected wolf pups, she said, met delays at DA’s office which meant the pups spent their first few months of life “locked up because the office could not make a decision.” She blamed Gallegos directly for “lack of management, indecision and lack of prioritization.”

A 2004 case of alleged abuse against 61 dogs and a horse lost in court, she said, “either because of incompetence or disregard. “What happened to these dogs could have totally been avoided if the DA had done his job.”

Said Jackson, “This is going to change when I’m your DA.”

“Animals are sentient beings,” Jackson said, her ire up. “They feel and they hurt. Child abuse, animal abuse, senior abuse are all top priorities.”She said the results of the Elsie Smith case weren’t adequate. “I would have had her plea to all 40 or tried the case,” she said.

“Animals are being let down by this administration,” Jackson said. “We need to change the administration in our DA’s office because we have no administration in our DA’s office. The office is in disarray from lack of administration.”

Q&A

Throughout the forum, Gallegos had enjoyed the advantage of being able to speak with authority and from experience on animal-related cases with which his office had been involved. The downside was that the animal welfare enthusiasts present were able to refer to that same paper trail to critique his performance.

Then it was time to ask the candidates questions. An attendee asked what could be done about homeless people and their not-always well cared-for animal companions.

Jackson said that without evidence of abuse or neglect, nothing could be done. But she recommended talking to the owners to ensure proper care.

Hagen said he agreed with Jackson. “If there’s no deprivation, torture or maiming, there’s no proof of a crime,” he said. “That’s the way it is.”

Gallegos said he prosecuted a man kicking a puppy along the freeway, because it was reported by passerby and there were witnesses.

Blue Lake City Councilmember Sherman Schapiro expressed frustration with Gallegos’s handling of the infamous 2003 case in which eight puppies were shot, throat-slit and crushed and then dumped on the roadside.

Schapiro said he spent a long time on the phone with Gallegos and his longtime political supporter Richard Salzman regarding the disposition of the puppies’ mother, only to be told that the matter was a property rights issue.

Gallegos said the court made that determination, and that he didn’t recall talking to Schapiro.

“We need someone with a business background in the DA’s office,” Bryson said, objecting to what she said was “misallocation of resources.”

A woman asked Gallegos whether he was the defense attorney for a man who had poisoned five cats with tuna laced with anti-freeze in 2002. She said he had fought to get the five felony counts of animal cruelty reduced to misdemeanors. “It was a  slap on the hand,” she said.

Gallegos confirmed that he did represent the man, but that details were lost to memory after several years. “I see my job to do the best that I can for the people that I represent,” Gallegos said.

Jackson was quick to reply. “I was the prosecutor in that case,” she said, in something of a Perry Mason moment. “Yes, Mr. Gallegos did argue in closing arguments that it was OK to lace tuna with anti-freeze to stop cats from coming in his yard.”

That sealed the deal for one attendee. “There are many DAs who will prosecute aggressively,” a woman in the audience told Gallegos. “I went door to door for you two times and I regret it and will never do it again.”

Submit Article to:

Paul Gallegos

Daniel Mintz

Eye Correspondent

HUMBOLDT – District Attorney Paul Gallegos has caused an historic but controversial transformation of his office and he says a third term will give him a chance to see it through.

Gallegos is at once the county’s most championed and disparaged political figure. From what’s said of him, he’s either courageously aligned the DA’s Office with community values or turned it into a smoking crater.

Both attitudes will be on full show in the upcoming DA primary election.

The political split is reflective of a larger, cultural one and DA elections of the recent past have inflamed it. But Gallegos said it’s ultimately been constructive and re-election will allow him to “finish work that I started years ago.” He described what he views as the fundamental improvements that have happened since he was elected in 2003.

They include modernizing the office’s filing and information systems; new DUI, drug enforcement and cultural awareness training programs for police and investigators; improvements in the quality of investigations and initiating multiple fronts of community outreach, including tribal outreach.

Gallegos said a “vast change” has taken place and is ongoing. It’s been a famously turbulent process and Gallegos believes the office is better for it – and so is he. “It’s always wrong to say there’s nothing more to learn,” he said.

He’ll be facing at least two and probably three of his former prosecutors in the election and they’re already saying that the first thing Gallegos needs to learn is how to run the office. His critics say he’s caused an exodus of respected prosecutors, personally taken on high-profile felony cases at the expense of office management, and his relationships with police agencies are strained.

Gallegos has fired three attorneys and others chose to leave the office after he was elected. He isn’t apologetic. “Yes, we do have standards here and we have responsibilities to this community and to the office,” he said. “I was voted in to do a job and to turn this office around.”

It’s been said that the office is now staffed with young, inexperienced attorneys who aren’t well-managed or trained. Gallegos named eight prosecutors in the office who are “far from young and inexperienced,” and added, “We have a base level of young attorneys doing misdemeanor work that we’re training and will be replaced – that’s the way it’s always been and it’s the way it’s always going to be.”

Gallegos also named himself an experienced prosecutor but some say that’s part of the problem — that he doesn’t have time to be what a DA should be: a department head.

But Gallegos believes that “first and foremost,” a DA’s job is to be a trial attorney. “You have to lead by example and be willing to try those tough cases, those big cases for the community,” he said. “The people of this community deserve to see me in court – I’m not an administrator, they didn’t elect me to be an administrator, they elected me to make sure this office runs and it runs well.”

Gallegos added that the office has “working, functional relationships” with all agencies, including the Sheriff’s Office and police departments. “There are times when individual chiefs and agencies are unhappy with me and sometimes that is mutual,” he said. “But by and large we know what our responsibility to this community is and we fulfill it.”

He added, “At the same time, the tail cannot wag the dog and I would say there was a perception of the tail wagging the dog.”

One of Gallegos’ signature messages is that application of law has to be based on it content, not biases. “One of the fundamental things I believe is that it has to rain on the rich and poor alike,” he said. “The DA’s office shouldn’t just pick on poor people – you know, we never get criticism when we pick on poor people, the mentally ill and homeless people.”

Marijuana growers were seen by some as being picked on before Gallegos was elected. His medical cultivation guidelines were eventually adopted by the Board of Supervisors but as the DA’s Office has changed, so have the times. Now there are complaints about the impacts of marijuana growing and a demand for doing something about them, especially in Arcata.

Has Gallegos’ marijuana prosecution approach changed? He says it’s “absolutely the same” and that he supports prosecuting marijuana cases when appropriate. But he added, “The first key is to remove the hyperbole – we will sit down with Arcata any day to address the issues but they have to be real issues. We cannot break the law, I’m not going to violate people’s civil liberties.”

Nor will he be pressured into seeking recourses that aren’t pragmatic, he said. His use of plea bargains, especially in some of the cases he’s personally prosecuted, is another target of criticism. One of the more controversial plea deals is the one accepted by Jason Whitmill, one of two men who caused the death of nine-year-old Nicole Quigley while drag racing on Route 299.

Whitmill was sentenced to 14 years, eight months in prison on a manslaughter charge, a punishment that members of Quigley’s family and others think is light. Gallegos had originally filed a second degree murder charge, which set a hard-nosed tone for the case and probably raised people’s expectations.

“It also raised Mr. Whitmill’s expectations,” said Gallegos. “And I didn’t charge it to get him to plead but it also let everyone know – ‘You do this and you may find yourself accused of murder.’ We put the community on notice.”

The downgrading of a vehicular manslaughter charge against Alan Bear, the man who drifted out of a State Route 299 travel lane and struck and killed bicyclist Gregory Jennings severely disappointed the bicyclists and trail advocates who are – or were – part of Gallegos’ support base. Asked about it, he said he made the right decision.

“I reduced it because the evidence changed,” Gallegos continued. “That guy got a year in jail – that was a big case for Humboldt County. When I got here, they said, ‘Paul , they never prosecute people who run over bicyclists.’ Guess what, no one will ever say that again – we sent someone to jail for a year for accidentally running over a bicyclist. That is a great thing, that is a big change for Humboldt County.”

Gallegos has had less time than it seems to establish his leadership. He’s been in office for seven years but the first four were steeped in turmoil and sidetracked by a recall election. He won a second term with a 53 percent majority and the division of opinion on him still runs strong and is probably as bitter as ever.

“I have shouldered the burden of change not only in this office but in this community,” Gallegos said. “I’ve been the meat in the grinder, so to speak … from the recall to the next election, which was a revisit of that whole past battle — and we’re seeing it again.”

Submit Article to:

Kathleen Bryson

Daniel Mintz

Eye Correspondent

HUMBOLDT – Kathleen Bryson is quickly becoming known as a unique personality in the district attorney’s election. At first brush, she’ll lean toward subjects more esoteric than politics but she also has plenty to say about how the District Attorney’s Office is being run – and how she can run it better.

And, like all the announced and rumored challengers so far, she has insider’s experience, having worked under incumbent District Attorney Paul Gallegos as a deputy DA from October, 2005 to March, 2007.

Now in criminal defense private practice and continuing to take on DUI, possession and cultivation cases after doing similar work for the Law Offices of Manny Daskal, Bryson is aiming for management of the county’s prosecutors. She says she’s doing it out of a sense of responsibility.

“It gets to the point where you have to run, when you see a lot of things being done improperly, things you know you can do better,” said Bryson.

She emphasized her mix of law and business experience – she worked in London as a legal advisor for Tesco Stores, a major global retailer, from 1998 to 2003 – and wants to apply it to the DA’s Office.

“We need to treat it like a business and properly manage, train and motivate people,” she said. Bryson liked that Gallegos “didn’t manage me too much” but said a slack approach doesn’t work as well with younger, less experienced attorneys.

Bryson has more advice for Gallegos: “When you hold a meeting, you don’t have it be just a bull session.” She added that if Gallegos takes her advice, it could offset her campaign but will help the office.

“So here we are, Paul: you need another legal secretary,” she said. “You have two for about 15 lawyers, they get sick a lot and if they’re not sick, they wish they were – those girls are overworked. I said it while I was in there, I’m going to say it now.”

Continuing to address Gallegos directly, Bryson added, “I also told you when I was in there – turn off the lights after hours — unless you have stock in PG&E, turn them off.”

Bryson also commented on something that has been widely talked about since Gallegos overturned former DA Terry Farmer’s longtime authority in 2003 – the loss of many veteran deputy DAs. She acknowledged that “there are deputy district attorneys who don’t want me to win,” but added, “once I win, they’re going to be gratified to see that I will remain professional and they will keep their jobs.”

One of the longtime attorneys who lost their deputy DA work is Allison Jackson, a respected prosecutor of crimes against children and women who was fired after an unsuccessful attempt to recall Gallegos in 2004. There’s been speculation about the reason for it – and Jackson’s emergence as a DA candidate – ever since.

“Paul fired her because Paul wanted to, I don’t know if he had any other criteria than that,” said Bryson. “Of course, I’m not necessarily in the know as to why Paul fired Allison right in the middle of a prelim (preliminary hearing), but I’m sure Paul will be able to tell you that if you interview him.”

Divulged or not, the circumstances of Jackson’s firing will be talked about more during the election. When Bryson was asked about her own exit from the Office, she said Manny Daskal’s firm had a high caseload and paid better.

Asked about the issues that will matter most in the election, Bryson talked about the symbolism of her campaign colors – pink represents “survivors” of serious crimes, she said, relating it to the handling of the case against Jason Whitmill and Anthony Flores, the men who caused the death of nine-year-old Nicole Quigley while drag racing on State Route 299 and agreed to plea deals.

Bryson has been criticized by Quigley’s father and she clarified that use of the color pink represents respect for “survivors not being treated the way they should be in a case like that – that case hit me pretty hard… my daughter is the exact same age, almost, as Nicole Quigley.”

Observing the court proceedings in the case, Bryson said she was surprised that Gallegos took on the case and then handed the prosecution off to Deputy DA Maggie Flemming. “Why on earth would Paul take a case like that?” she asked, saying that the DA should only take felony cases if “he thinks he can do it better than the other lawyers in his office – no, you can’t, Paul.”

Another reason is “taking a case to get your name in the paper – well, you’ll never see me do that, ever,” she said.

Bryson also said that a DA becomes inaccessible when felony cases and jury trials are taken on.

The color blue in her campaign signs and buttons will be for law enforcement, she continued. She believes police agencies have “about had it with Paul,” although she added that he’s paid some attention to the issue since she was first quoted on it by the Times-Standard newspaper.

Asked about use of plea bargains, which is sure to be a major election issue, Bryson said they’re a “mandatory” aspect of the judicial system but on the misdemeanor level “where we can easily afford to have a plea bargain or two,” Gallegos is taking cases to trial to train his inexperienced prosecutors.

“Which is great if it weren’t so unethical and an abuse of power – we are clogging the courtrooms with penny ante misdemeanor cases,” she said.

Bryson’s prosecution priorities will be violent crimes and sex crimes. Regarding drug offences, “If I could use one four-letter word, it wouldn’t be Paul, it would be meth,” she said. “Right now he’s doing his best but it’s just not good enough.”

Marijuana is a more difficult subject to assess as laws on it continue to change but Bryson called for “no more lawyers, guns and money” promoted by a black market. She favors legalization/regulation and better communication between defense attorneys and prosecutors on medical needs.

If police search medical grows that are apparently overblown, they should leave behind an amount of cannabis that fits the concept of patient needs, Bryson added.

Unlike the other announced and rumored challengers, Bryson’s name is a new one to many people. But she said that other than spending a few years in London, her family has been in Humboldt since 1993 and loves it here. “It seems like I’m this person from out of nowhere, but I’m not,” she said.

Submit Article to:

Paul Hagen

Daniel Mintz

Eye Correspondent

HUMBOLDT – Paul Hagen has worked for several different district attorneys – including incumbent DA Paul Gallegos – as an environmental prosecutor and he says pervasive dissatisfaction with Gallegos’ management has led to his bid to replace him.

“The current District Attorney’s Office needs far better leadership for its staff and far better representation of the interests of the people of the county,” Hagen said.

Adding that “the bloom is off the rose” for Gallegos, Hagen highlighted staffing issues.

“There’s been an enormous drain of talent out of the office since the incumbent took over,” he said. “People have been fired, people have been driven out, people have left – you can say whatever you want to about (former DA) Terry Farmer and his policies but over a 20-year period, he put together a very good team of prosecutors.”

Now, Hagen added, the office has “a lot of first-year hires, a lot of people without a lot of experience and people with very questionable backgrounds.” There are also some qualified recent hires, he said, but Gallegos “doesn’t train them well, he doesn’t track their cases well and he doesn’t ensure that they coordinate with the various police agencies well.”

A high number of plea bargains, over-charging of cases, lowball settlements and “a fair amount of chaos in the court system where deputy DAs really don’t know what they’re handling” has led to a “situation where, quite frankly, justice is not being well-served,” Hagen continued.

He upheld his range of experience as a comparative basis for his assessment. He worked as an environmental analyst for Pillsbury Madison and Sutro, one of the nation’s largest law firms, from 1989 to 1995 and then worked for the Mendocino County DA’s Office as an environmental prosecutor for more than four years.

In 1998, he was hired to do environmental prosecution for Humboldt, Lake and Del Norte counties on a part-time basis by the California District Attorneys Association. It became a full-time job in 1999, when he moved to Arcata, where he still lives and serves as a member of the Arcata Planning Commission.

He switched to private practice in the summer of 2006 with the Eureka-based Bragg, Perlman, Russ, Stunich and Eads firm, whose clients include the City of Trinidad, the Shelter Cove Resort Improvement District and the California Teachers Association.

Hagen’s mention of plea bargains prompted a question on what an appropriate amount is. He said charging is an important aspect of the situation and “whatever is charged needs to bear some relationship to what is settled,” something he believes is often lacking now.

One police chief told him that a man charged with rape had gotten a plea deal for trespassing. “He found that obscene – that was the word he used,” said Hagen.

“So what’s going on is that the young attorneys aren’t being trained well, they’re not being given good marching orders and there are no clear policies for them to follow,” he continued.

Hagen believes “the first order” of the DA is to be an administrator and to work with county government, police agencies and the public. “And when it comes to the public, you can’t over-promise and under-deliver,” he said. “You have to make yourself available, and if you say you’re going to do something you have to do it or make yourself available to explain why you haven’t – and that’s not being done.”

Taking on prosecution is something a DA does to “help pull the load” but Hagen believes high-profile trials shouldn’t be done by a DA unless absolutely necessary. “The question is, is the elected DA going into the courtroom for purely administrative purposes, to help out the staff or is he doing it for purely political purposes, to try to get press or curry favor with the public?” he asked.

When one is DA, “Your forte absolutely should not be being a trial lawyer,” Hagen continued. Asked if he thinks Gallegos has taken on cases for political reasons, he answered, “Without question.”

He named the filing of the Pacific Lumber lawsuit, the prosecution of former Fortuna Councilmember Debi August, the over-prosecution of former Blue Lake Police Chief Dave Gundersen and the case against two Eureka police officials in the Cheri Moore shooting as examples.

Hagen said that it’s not known how strong the evidence was in the Eureka Police case because it was “bungled” and dismissed. “Humboldt County once again made national news for having a bizarre prosecution come out of the DA’s Office,” he continued.

On prosecution priorities, Hagen said people are most concerned about violent crimes and property crimes. There is less consensus about some types of crimes, and in Humboldt, there’s a cultural acceptance of marijuana but also an emerging call for enforcement against it.

Asked what his approach to that would be, Hagen acknowledged that Gallegos “brought the DA’s Office more in line, I believe, with the mentality and beliefs of the community” but “there’s clearly a degree of permissiveness there.”

It’s led to an excessive amount of grows in residential neighborhoods, home invasion robberies and shootings, said Hagen, adding that Proposition 215’s permissiveness has contributed to those impacts. He referred to the City of Arcata’s enforcement approach, which relies on land use and zoning authority, as a sound one.

But the degree to which those zoning codes can be enforced has yet to be tested and Hagen believes the ultimate solution is to legalize marijuana and regulate it.

Methamphetamine is a “very vicious drug” that can lead to serious crime, and Hagen thinks people agree that tackling the “very large meth problem here” is an enforcement priority.

Environmental prosecution is Hagen’s specialty and he says “there has been very little of it that I can see” since his exit from the DA’s Office.

There was some media attention and a lot of speculation about the reason why he left. Asked about it, he said he was fired by the California District Attorneys Association and signed a settlement agreement which stipulated that he not talk about it.

But he was asked to give more detail when he added, “There can be consequences to speaking truth to power.”

Hagen said, “If you’re doing your job right, you need to tell the boss what the boss needs to hear whether the boss wants to hear it or not … if your boss doesn’t want to hear bad news or doesn’t want to hear advice, people who haven’t got the guts and the strength to do it won’t do it and they will keep their jobs, and those who do their jobs correctly despite the consequences will often suffer the consequences.

“And that’s what speaking truth to power is all about,” he continued. “And that’s what I did, and that’s what happened.”

Submit Article to: