District Attorney John Sarsfield says a Secretary of State’s
report that could determine Supervisor-elect Jaime De La Cruz’s
fate should arrive in
”
about two weeks.
”
Hollister – District Attorney John Sarsfield says a Secretary of State’s report that could determine Supervisor-elect Jaime De La Cruz’s fate should arrive in “about two weeks.”
Sarsfield has been waiting for the state’s investigative report for several months to determine how to proceed on allegations of voter fraud in the March District 5 race. He blamed the local elections office for the latest two-month delay of an investigation into De La Cruz and his campaign adviser, Ignacio Velazquez.
San Benito County’s head elections officials John Hodges, meanwhile, says his office doesn’t deserve blame for the delay. He also believes the state’s report won’t reveal anything – good or bad – about De La Cruz and Velazquez.
They’re accused of breaking the elections code on Election Day – when De La Cruz beat incumbent Bob Cruz by 10 votes – by illegally handling ballots and coercing a voter, among other claims. Those allegations stem from an inspector’s probe, which the Board of Supervisors commissioned shortly after the March election.
Sarsfield said he’s unsure if the state’s report will be a determining factor in the De La Cruz investigation. The state office doesn’t comment publicly on active investigations.
“It’s just too speculative to say,” Sarsfield said Friday. “I’m as curious as anybody is.”
De La Cruz and Cruz both have criticized how long it’s taken to conclude the scandal surrounding their District 5 race.
Cruz believes his opponent broke elections laws, and that the inspector’s report released in May shows it.
“If anything, I have learned one thing,” Cruz said Friday. “The wheels of justice turn awfully slow.”
Cruz also said if the county has waited for seven months already, another two weeks won’t hurt.
Cruz, like Sarsfield, said the elections office deserves blame for the latest delay. An office staffer misplaced an e-mail requesting documents, which apparently halted the state’s work.
“I mean, that’s ridiculous,” Cruz said.
But Hodges reiterated his stance Friday that his office’s misplacement of the e-mail shouldn’t have delayed the District 5 probe.
After the e-mail came in June 8 requesting the information, elections supervisor Kim Hawk misplaced it, and the Secretary of State’s Office never asked again until late August. Hodges says the state not only should have sent a follow-up request, but also that the state probe has nothing to do with the investigation into De La Cruz.
The documents that caused the delay contain voter information – including which registered voters moved from the county but are still registered, along with other suspicious voter activity.
Hodges said the California office did similar examinations “up and down the state.”
“I don’t see any of that stuff relating to Jaime,” Hodges said. “The state didn’t come in and investigate Jaime. The state’s investigation is to see whether there’s fraud going on amongst voters.”
Everyone involved, though, especially De La Cruz, is anxious to conclude the District 5 investigation.
“Hopefully once all the information is available at his disposal, he’ll make an intelligent and right decision,” De La Cruz said of Sarsfield.
Sarsfield called the upcoming arrival of the state’s report “good news.”
“I’m glad this thing’s being wrapped up,” he said.
Kollin Kosmicki covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach him at 637-5566, ext. 331 or [email protected].
