Publication Date: Wednesday Oct 28, 1998

County Sheriff: Smith-Diaz race gets personal

The race for sheriff in Santa Clara County has turned unusually nasty in recent weeks as the two career law enforcement officers fighting for the seat jostle and jab.

The candidates, Laurie Smith and Ruben Diaz, have argued heatedly over such issues as endorsements, place of residency, past performance records and campaign donations.

The tone of the race stands in stark contrast to the actual issues the candidates are stressing. Smith and Diaz, both assistant sheriffs in the department, agree on most major issues. The top priorities of both candidates are increased attention to domestic violence, youth crime and auto theft.

The sheriff's job is open following the retirement of Charles Gillingham.

In the June primary, Smith of Palo Alto received the most votes, with nearly 25 percent, while Diaz of San Jose was second, with 22 percent. Three other candidates split the remaining votes.

Diaz says his strength comes from his time in the community working with youths.

"I've been meeting with high schools students to try to get them to stay out of gangs," Diaz said at the League of Women Voters debate earlier this month in Mountain View. "You get this by getting out and working with kids. You don't get that by staying in the office."

Diaz also said he has identified 20 deputy positions, or 5 percent of the force, that can be filled by citizens, enabling more officers to be out on the street.

Smith says one of her priorities within the department is to involve employees at all levels in decision making, to help build unity in a department that she says has suffered morale problems because of "indecisive management" and few opportunities for promotions.

Smith says she has the confidence and trust of the department. In a poll of the 400-member Deputy Sheriff's Association, 137 of the 199 respondents were for Smith, 16 for Diaz.

This number was contested by Diaz at a League of Women Voters forum in Los Altos, where he said the poll had 60 respondents, not 199. Smith verified the numbers with the Deputy Sheriff's Association, showing a copy of the tally to the Weekly.

Diaz has also jabbed at Smith, saying she doesn't live in Palo Alto but in South Lake Tahoe. (Smith told the Weekly that while she does own a vacation house in the Tahoe area, her primary residence is on Everett Avenue, where she lives with her husband and daughter.)

At the league's forum in Mountain View, Smith answered back, asking Diaz to open his personnel records to the public. Rumors have been flying that Diaz left the Milpitas Police Department under unceremonious circumstances.

Diaz said he would open his records "when the time is proper." He neither confirmed nor denied any wrongdoing in Milpitas but said he was accepted to the FBI Academy, where a background check is necessary before being accepted.

Last week, Smith filed a complaint with the Santa Clara County Campaign Ethics Commission, a nonpartisan group with no administrative power other than to provide a forum for political discussion. Smith's complaints cites a variety of instances where she claims Diaz has misled voters. Included were Diaz's statements about where she lives and whose endorsement he has received. She also cited a $1,000 campaign donation that Diaz received from Timothy and George Bumb, owners of the San Jose Flea Market. It was not disclosed that the Bumbs also own Bay 101, a local card club. Diaz has since returned the donation.

Ruben Diaz

Age: 47

Hometown: San Jose

Position: Assistant sheriff

Experience: Twenty-eight years in law enforcement; eight years as assistant sheriff; worked in Foster City, Milpitas and Visalia police departments; graduated from the FBI Academy; master's degree in public administration from the National University of Community Involvement.

Programs implemented, managed: Neighborhood Crime Prevention fairs; Rural Crime Prevention Unit; Emerging Technology Unit; managed the Field Enforcement Bureau's patrol deputies; managed security for World Cup 1994 at Stanford.

Laurie Smith

Age: 47

Hometown: Palo Alto

Position: Assistant sheriff

Experience: Twenty-five years in the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department; eight years as assistant sheriff; graduated from the FBI Academy; master's degree in management from Cal Poly-Pomona.

Programs implemented, managed: Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement team; Regional Auto Theft Task Force; Sheriff's Community Police Academy; Sheriff's Leadership Development.