The two men who will be facing each other in November's election for Sheriff
of Kern County debated each other Tuesday night at the Lake Isabella-Bodfish
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Mack Wimbish, who has been Sheriff for three and a half years. His opponent
is Donnie Youngblood, a retired Sheriff's commander. Ron Benoit, president
of the association, moderated the meeting.
Questions were posed to the opponents in two forms -- written in advance and
read by Benoit, and spoken directly from the audience.
During a three-minute opening statement from each, Youngblood mentioned his
30 years in the Sheriff's Department and what he feels is a lack of
leadership in the Sheriff's office, and Wimbish mentioned his achievements
and what he said is his ongoing plan to revitalize the department.
Then the questions began.
Youngblood was asked what he felt were the biggest differences between the
two candidates. Youngblood said, "I can answer that in one word --
leadership. No one is driving the ship." He said that he had the support of
84 percent of deputies in a survey. Wimbish replied that in that survey,
only 33 percent turned them in, saying if 84 percent of the 33 percent
supported Youngblood, that was more like 25 percent of the department.
The next question was about the problem of keeping resident deputies in the
valley. Wimbish said, "It's been a problem for several years now, ever since
they changed the law that you can no longer require someone to live where
they work. I don't know the answer yet." Youngblood suggested that he would
go to the Board of Supervisors and ask for bonus pay for deputies live near
the substation in which they work.
The opponents were asked what was being done about increased staffing
because of population growth in Kern County. Wimbish said more positions
were being created, but it is taking time. "Like an aircraft carrier, you
don't turn on a dime. It takes a long time to get it turned around," he
said, citing years of slim budgets and budget cuts. Youngblood replied, "Of
course (money is being spent now) -- it's an election year. We should have
been doing this since day one."
Youngblood said that staffing in Kern County is at .59 per 1,000 population,
when the national standard is 1.15. Wimbish countered with, "We're
rebuilding; it's going to take a while to get back there." He said the Board
of Supervisors has allowed him to hire beyond the open positions right now
to take attrition into account.
The problem of calling 911 in the evening and having a long response time
was brought up. Several audience members wanted someone in the local
substation at all times. Youngblood disagreed, saying "I want them in the
patrol cars, not in the office." Wimbish agreed with him, adding that when
you call 911, you get CHP involved too. He said, "911 actually increases the
number of officers available."
The opponents were asked, "Is there a team effort between the CHP and the
Sheriff's Department?" Both answered that cooperatioin between the two
agencies is better here in the Kern Valley than in many areas. Wimbish said,
"The Kern River Valley is blessed. There's no other place where the agencies
get along and back each other up better than the Kern River Valley."
Youngblood said, "I agree. I think the cooperation betwen the Sheriff's
Department and CHP in the Kern River Valley has been better than in most
places."
When asked about if a lack of cooperation between Kern County and Tulare
County rescue efforts may have been an issue in the recent death of a
missing bicyclist on the Cannell Trail, Wimbish said, "I'm not real familar
with the fact that there was no cooperation." He added that Bill Whitman,
the Sheriff of Tulare County, is a friend. "I've always thought there was
great cooperation." He added that with Kern Valley Search and Rescue,
"You've got the best." Youngblood said he had he had not heard of any lack
of cooperation either. "I don't know there was negative cooperation," he
said.
A question was asked about gun control and how the candidates feel about
concealed weapon permits. Wimbish said he's against gun control. He said
about gun laws, "We've got to get rid of some and not pass any more."
Youngblood said he feels that whichever of them wins, Second Amendment
rights will not be an issue; they both feel about the same.
About Neighborhood Watch, Wimbish said, "Today's Neighborhood Watch is not
your grandfather's Neighborhood Watch." He said that terrorism is a factor
now. Youngblood stressed the importance of having the Comm Center -- where
911 calls go -- fully staffed at all times.
A question was brought up about having dirt bikes available in the Kern
River Valley for deputies to use. Currently they have to be brought in from
Inyokern. Wimbish said there is a problem when a deputy is on a dirt bike on
one call and then gets another emergency call. "How does he get there?" he
said. Wimbish said he felt that a team of dirt bike officers could be
brought in from time to time instead to make a lot of arrests. Youngblood
agreed. "It has to be very structured," he said. The opponents clashed on
the origins of the dirt bike program, but good-naturedly. Youngblood said
the two didn't hate one another. He said they got along, but disagreed on
points sometimes.
Questions posed directly from the audience included:
"What is your major concern in the valley?" Both answered illegal drugs.
When another attendee asked if marijuana isn't a less serious drug than
meth, both said marijuana is illegal. Wimbish said about recent legalization
of medicinal marijuana in California, "I'd like to change it. Marijuana
should not be legal." He said he's looked into studies and believes that
marijuana has no medical value.
"What do you think of the D.A.R.E. program?" Both said the program had had
no significant effect on keeping young people from drugs. Wimbish said, "I
chose to have 'safe school' deputies instead," saying they were more
versatile. "I looked really hard at D.A.R.E. programs, and there was no
difference" between before and after. Youngblood went a step further,
saying, "Programs don't fix people. It's a waste of money. You might as well
go out and throw that money straight up into the air."
About having drug dogs locally, both said that drug dogs are very costly and
it was impractical to have one stationed here. Wimbish suggested rotating
them through the different substations, noting there were five drug dogs in
the county and a sixth was being added.
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