Finally, some County Supervisors have taken a leadership role
and are on the verge of making an important decision regarding our
out-of-control district attorney.
Finally, some County Supervisors have taken a leadership role and are on the verge of making an important decision regarding our out-of-control district attorney.
Supervisor Reb Monaco – who took the brunt of a salacious attack from District Attorney John Sarsfield last week – has requested that the supervisors cast a vote of “no confidence” in the prosecutor on Tuesday. And Supervisor Anthony Botelho has gone on record saying he will support Monaco.
It’s about time.
The issue that prompted Monaco to request the vote is that Sarsfield, due to spending $115,000 on an out-of-town attorney to prosecute the Los Valientes civil case, has exceeded his budget by $92,000. As a result, Sarsfield says he can’t pay for basic expenses such as keeping the electricity on in his office. Does he take the blame for blowing his budget? Of course not. He ran to media outlets all over the area and said the county has shut him down.
Now, he is asking the Board of Supervisors for more money – an astonishing $300,000 or 33 percent more than his original annual budget – to keep the lights on and continue his pursuit of Los Valientes. Living within his budget seems to be a foreign concept to the prosecutor.
Finally though, Monaco has said “enough is enough” and called for the no confidence vote. He is also asking that the board request the state Attorney General to investigate how the district attorney handles his office.
Though the vote would be purely symbolic and carry no legal ramifications, the supervisors must make it clear they have no confidence in the job that Sarsfield has done as our county’s top law enforcement official. Such a vote would send a clear message to voters in the June 6 primary that Sarsfield is misusing his authority and squandering taxpayers’ dollars.
Remember, it’s not those in the District Attorney’s Office who will pay the price for Sarsfield wasting his money while chasing shadows. It’s every county resident who gets involved in a case that is neglected when it lands on the district attorney’s desk. The money spent on Sarsfield’s pursuit of the Los Valientes could have fixed potholes, funded social services or simply put another criminal behind bars.
This Quixotic waste of money, political capital and government time must end. And, our supervisors need to take a leadership role in sending that message.
