May 8, 2008

Hill under fire for Munks response

Opponents criticize supervisor for slow follow-up

By Shaun Bishop / Daily News Staff Writer

The fallout from Sheriff Greg Munks' trip to a Las Vegas brothel last year is starting to shape the campaign for the 19th state Assembly District seat as political opponents of Supervisor Jerry Hill blasted the legislative candidate for essentially giving the sheriff a pass.

Catherine Brinkman, a Republican candidate for the seat being vacated by Assemblyman Gene Mullin, issued a statement Wednesday afternoon lambasting Hill for failing to follow up on a charter change he suggested two weeks ago that would give supervisors the power to investigate and discipline other elected officials for misconduct.

Noting that with the exception of the county counsel's request for more time to investigate the charter change there was no discussion at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting about Hill's suggestion, Brinkman said the "promised reform proposals have not emerged and it is clear that Jerry Hill is attempting to sweep the malfeasance of the sheriff and Hill's own support of the sheriff back under the rug."

Hill's campaign manager, Ed McGovern, called Brinkman's comments "stupid," pointing out any charter amendment must go before the voters before it can be approved.

"She's obviously ill-informed and ignorant in her comments," McGovern said.

"She's trying to make this into a political issue when she really doesn't know what she's talking about."

Hill could not be reached after several calls for comment Wednesday evening.

Hill's call for a charter change came after a Daily News story two weeks ago quoted U.S. Representatives Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, and Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, calling for an investigation into the April 27, 2007, incident, in which Munks was found at the brothel with Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos during a police raid. In the article, they criticized the supervisors for not demanding that the sheriff account for himself.

Hill and his fellow supervisors have said they had no power to look into the matter because the sheriff is an elected official acting on his own time and was never charged with a crime.

After the recent Daily News stories, Hill suggested the charter change and Supervisor Adrienne Tissier suggested the county consider setting up an ethics committee to act as a third-party investigator.

Richard Holober, who is battling Hill for the Democratic nomination for the Assembly 19th District seat in the June election, joined in Brinkman's criticism. He said Hill's efforts to change the charter now are "too little, too late."

"The real test of leadership is what do you do, what's in your gut, when you're not subjected to massive criticism which has now occurred thanks to the recent news coverage," Holober said. "In my opinion, the leadership was not there to understand that this goes beyond just bad judgment on the sheriff's part. Leaders have a responsibility, I think, to speak out."

Hill has said he asked the county counsel in April 2007 what the supervisors could do and was told the sheriff is accountable only to the voters.

"We have to do what's lawful and what's legally allowed for us to do and that's what we did," Hill said in a recent interview. "And now there may be a way to change the law to allow us to do more."

Hill denounced the sheriff in a recent post on his campaign blog, saying "Sheriff Greg Munks' behavior in Las Vegas last year was wrong. I was, and remain, disappointed in his actions and I don't condone his behavior."

Three days after the incident a year ago, though, Hill told the Daily News, "He's (Munks) an excellent sheriff with a long history and an excellent reputation. I don't see this affecting his ability to act as sheriff in any way."

Brinkman has also called for an external investigation of the sheriff and said "voters are waiting for meaningful action to restore public trust in the office of the San Mateo County sheriff."

Hill also returned about $4,700 that Munks and his wife Brenda had given his Assembly campaign, saying he wanted to avoid any conflicts of interest as the board investigated the charter changes. Brinkman said he returned those funds "out of political expediency" and "only after he landed in the media spotlight."



E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.