Dyer’s Bid for 2 Posts Debated: Fresno Co. Counsel Says Police Chief Can’t Also Be Sheriff at the Same Time.

By Kerri Ginis and Matt Leedy, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Mar. 4–Fresno County’s attorney says Jerry Dyer can’t hold the elected office of sheriff and continue to be Fresno police chief.

County Supervisors Bob Waterston and Henry Perea, concerned about the prospect of Dyer holding both jobs, asked for a legal opinion on the issue Friday.

Some Fresno City Council members also said Friday that they don’t think Dyer should oversee both departments at once, but Mayor Alan Autry said he supports Dyer’s bid to replace Sheriff Richard Pierce, because it would move the police and sheriff’s departments closer to consolidation.

Dyer said he’s still considering a run for sheriff and is waiting for the state Attorney General’s Office to weigh in on the matter.

“This is not a lighthearted decision for me,” Dyer said Friday. “This is an extremely important decision for me and I have not made a commitment one way or another.”

Entering the political sheriff’s race would likely resurrect a checkered past for Dyer, as one candidate already questioned on Friday the chief’s former lifestyle, which Dyer has publicly said included a long-running affair, public fighting and excessive drinking.

Dyer said the Police Department’s legal adviser was in contact with the Attorney General’s Office on Friday and expects to have continued discussions on the matter next week.

A spokeswoman for the Attorney General’s Office said it hasn’t received a request for a formal legal opinion. Such an opinion would likely take four to six months to complete and could set a precedent because the Attorney General’s Office has never been asked to determine whether a police chief also can serve as elected sheriff. But the Attorney General’s Office could issue an informal opinion or an oral opinion more quickly, according to the Police Department’s legal adviser.

The only legal opinion on the issue so far is from County Counsel Dennis Marshall. Perea said Marshall told board members Friday that Dyer couldn’t legally be both police chief and sheriff because they are “incompatible offices.”

“There is some legal oversight or jurisdiction a sheriff has that could create a conflict,” Perea said of Marshall’s opinion.

The issue of incompatible offices is something the attorney general has reviewed before, but not regarding a police chief wanting also to be sheriff. Spokeswoman Robin Schwanke said the law prevents a person from holding two public offices simultaneously if “the duties of either office have an adverse effect on the other.”

She said some offices can be considered incompatible if there’s a clash of duty or issues related to public policy.

Dyer said he was not aware of the county counsel’s opinion but is hoping for a ruling from the attorney general.

Said Dyer: “If they’re able to offer a legal opinion in a timely manner, then certainly that would be preferable. Absent having a legal opinion, I really don’t have the factual basis to make an informed decision” about whether to run for sheriff.

Time is a factor because the filing period to run for sheriff ends Friday, though there is a five-day extension if the incumbent doesn’t run. Pierce said he is not running for re-election.

Pierce said he thinks Dyer is “immensely qualified.” He also supports the idea of consolidating the sheriff’s and police departments.

“I believe this county needs to have one law enforcement agency headed by an elected sheriff,” Pierce said. “It would be more efficient and more effective.”

Autry concurs and said that he would support Dyer if he tried to lead both agencies and eventually combine them.

“Consolidation brings a higher level of public safety both on an everyday basis and in the event of a large-scale emergency, such as a terrorist event,” Autry said. “Any move to consolidate the Police Department and Sheriff’s Department is a good one.”

Local law enforcement agencies need a “central command,” said Autry, who believes Dyer could adeptly direct a consolidated department that encompasses both the city of Fresno and Fresno County.

Others don’t believe that one person can oversee both large agencies. The Sheriff’s Department covers more than 6,000 square miles and serves 195,000 residents in the unincorporated areas and county islands. The department has more than 1,000 employees.

The Police Department has five policing districts that serve about 465,000 residents. The department has about 1,250 employees.

Fresno City Council Members Jerry Duncan and Mike Dages praised Dyer, saying he’d make a great sheriff, but said the combined work of police chief and sheriff is more than anyone could handle.

“I think if the chief ran for sheriff he would probably win, but I think trying to hold two jobs at once probably wouldn’t work,” said Duncan, the council president. “I think he’d have to do one or the other. I don’t think anyone could do both.”

Dages said he was disappointed to learn Dyer would even consider running both departments at once.

“My first thought is that if he has enough time to do both jobs, then it must be management-heavy over at the Police Department,” Dages said. “You have a lot of time on your hands if you think you can be a police chief and a sheriff at the same time.”

County Supervisors Waterston and Perea also said they don’t think Dyer can oversee both agencies.

“Whether it’s legal or not, you have to make a decision about whether you want to serve the residents of the city of Fresno or whether you want to serve the residents of the county,” Perea said.

Said Waterston: “One man should only answer to one master.”

If Dyer does run, he’s entering a field of candidates that so far includes four Sheriff’s Department employees and one retired California Highway Patrol captain.

The Fresno Deputy Sheriffs Association has already endorsed retired CHP Capt. Calvin Minor. President James Bewley said Friday that regardless of what Dyer decides, the union’s endorsement remains with Minor.

“Unless the board comes up with a new direction they want to go, we’re staying right on track,” Bewley said.

The other candidates include Deputy Sheriff Chris Curtice, Capt. Jose Flores, Capt. Colleen Mestas and Assistant Sheriff Margaret Mims.

Flores, who is also a Clovis City Council member, said if he wins the election he would resign from the council before taking office as sheriff in January. His council term ends in March 2007.

He said he doesn’t think Dyer should be in charge of both the police and sheriff’s departments: “You need to make a choice. I don’t believe it’s legal. There’s got to be some kind of conflict of interest.”

Minor said he welcomes anyone into the race but will focus his campaign on character and ethical standards.

He added that “past performance and lifestyle are indicative of the future,” and in Dyer’s past the “success is not there.”

Dyer’s past could become an issue in a campaign. He has twice faced accusations that he had sex with an underage girl in the mid-1980s that triggered separate investigations inside the Police Department.

He’s also talked publicly of a long-running affair, public fighting and excessive drinking. But Dyer said he abandoned that lifestyle when he became a Christian in the late 1980s.

Dyer has also faced scrutiny as police chief regarding his department’s use of force and the suicide of Fresno police Lt. Jose Moralez, who shot and killed himself 200 yards from Dyer’s home in November 2004.

More recently, Dyer has been recognized for helping decrease crime in Fresno for three consecutive years, resulting in a 33-year low in crime in 2004. He made traffic safety a priority, leading to a 42% reduction in traffic collisions since 2002. Last year, his department was nationally accredited, making it the largest municipal law enforcement agency in the state to receive accreditation status.

Dyer said he knows that a political campaign could bring further scrutiny, but he’s prepared for it: “I’ve been through it; it’s not pleasant, but I also know you can’t let those things prevent you from doing the right thing.”

The reporters can be reached at kginis@fresnobee.com,mleedy@fresnobee.comor (559) 441-6330.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

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