Sheriff Scandal Plagues Assembly Candidate

As three local Democrats toil away in the hopes of succeeding termed out Assemblyman Gene Mullin in the 19th Assembly District, the scandal surrounding San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks is beginning to play a pivotal role in the race.

In yet another article in the Daily News regarding the Sheriff and his connection to San Mateo County Supervisor and Assembly aspirant Jerry Hill, Republican candidate Catherine Brinkman blasted Hill for his “too late and too little” response to the Sheriff’s scandal.

San Mateo County residents may recall the revelations last April that San Mateo County Sheriff Greg Munks, and his Undersheriff Carlos Bolanos, were caught up in a brothel bust when the two top cops in San Mateo County were in Las Vegas for a relay race for law enforcement.

Both lawmen were “detained” and released along with numerous other patrons of the Las Vegas neighborhood brothel but many women were taken into custody as well as cash and approximately 3,500 tabs of the drug Ecstasy.

San Mateo County officialdom was largely silent on the event. In fact, some even defended Munks in lieu of condemning the visit of the two top cops to a house of ill repute. San Mateo County Supervisor and State Assembly aspirant Jerry Hill was particularly vociferous in his defense of Munks.

As pressure has mounted however, particularly from Congresswomen Jackie Speier and Anna Eshoo – both of whom publicly called for an investigation in April of this year – Hill and company backtracked and promised to develop proposals to allow the board to address the issue. Hill, according to an Examiner Newspaper article, proposed a possible county charter amendment to allow the Supervisors to discipline Munks. But two weeks later at the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on May 6, no such proposal was forthcoming. In fact, there was no discussion of the Munks issue at all.

In a Daily News article following the meeting, Hill did indicate that he is still working on the issue.

But the lack of action apparently did not sit well with another Assembly candidate. Republican Assembly candidate Catherine Brinkman issued a blistering statement in response to Hill’s lack of action, criticizing Hill for trying to again “…sweep the malfeasance of the Sheriff and Hill’s own support of the Sheriff back under the rug,” according to a full copy of the statement available on the Pacifica Riptide Web site.

In a Daily News article, Hill’s campaign manager, Ed McGovern shot back calling Brinkman “stupid” and stating that she has only brought up the issue again for political reasons.

Whatever the cause, the Daily News article took Hill to task for his ever shifting positions on the Munks scandal. In an editorial published last month by the San Mateo County Times, the newspaper predicted that the Munks scandal and Hill’s subsequent fumble would have an impact on the Assembly race in favor of Hill’s competitors Richard Holober, a San Mateo County Community College Trustee and Gina Papan, the Mayor of Millbrae.

It appears that the Times prediction is coming true as Hill struggles to find a way out of the political quagmire he has made for himself.