Former sheriff gets his man, won't challenge Anderson

12/23/05

By SCOTT HADLY
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER

Former Sheriff Jim Thomas got his political wish Thursday, he said, when a younger candidate whom he respects committed to challenging current Sheriff Jim Anderson in the 2006 election.

"I was only going to run if someone younger who could move the department forward failed to come forward," said Mr. Thomas, who was in his mid-50s when he retired three years ago. "This is someone I respect, who would do a good job."

Mr. Thomas said he doesn't want to name the man until he has formerly declared himself a candidate. But he said the candidate he backs is within the department. Among some of the department employees considered possible candidates are Cmdr. Dominick Palera, who heads up the Carpinteria station; Lt. Butch Arnoldi, who ran for the job three years ago; and Cmdr. Bill Byrne, who now runs North County operations.

Several other top law enforcement officials have been discussed as possible candidates, including Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez, Lompoc Police Chief Bill Brown and San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deb Linden, a former Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department commander.

Mr. Thomas said he'd only considered running to unseat Sheriff Anderson after the sheriff cut his ties with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Council, which has raised millions to buy equipment for the department over the past 13 years. It was the latest in a series of decisions made by the sheriff that Mr. Thomas strongly disagreed with, and it amounted to the last straw. He was particularly offended by the decisions to give badges to members of the council's board and to put Chumash Casino stickers on some department vehicles.

Now Mr. Thomas feels assured that a qualified and viable challenger who is young and has fresh ideas could come in and "move the department forward."

Mr. Thomas, who spent 30 years in the Sheriff's Department and 12 years as the department's top officer, said a department employee challenging the sheriff could face risks.

The first time he ran for the office in the mid-1980s, Mr. Thomas challenged his boss, Sheriff John Carpenter. He lost and was given an unpopular assignment.

But Mr. Thomas came back to run again and win in 1990.

Any candidate would have to be able to garner support from both the North County and the South Coast and would benefit from an endorsement from the Deputy Sheriff's Association, the union representing the rank and file. Sheriff Anderson won the union's endorsement when he ran four years ago. Last week he went to a DSA meeting and asked again for the group's endorsement, but the association has yet to decide whom it will back.

Mr. Thomas said the candidate he has in mind could do all those things.

"I think this guy can win it," he said.

The man plans to announce his decision sometime after the holidays, Mr. Thomas said.