Recently hired by LULAC to inspect election results in the
District 5 supervisor race, two private investigators dismissed
themselves from involvement because the local District Attorney’s
Office commissioned a coinciding investigation.
Recently hired by LULAC to inspect election results in the District 5 supervisor race, two private investigators dismissed themselves from involvement because the local District Attorney’s Office commissioned a coinciding investigation.
Local investigators Dennis Stafford and Richard Boomer informed LULAC of their intentions late last week, according to Dan Reyes, president of the local LULAC chapter. The two investigators declined to comment.
Reyes said the two private investigators learned the district attorney requested an investigation by the Hollister Police Department. Stafford cited to LULAC his office’s policy against conducting “parallel investigations” along with other agencies, according to Reyes.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller, however, said Monday his department is not getting involved and referred all further comments on the matter to Sarsfield.
Sheriff Curtis Hill on Monday also said his department won’t take the job. The district attorney requested Hill’s help, but Hill said he declined.
“I felt that (the investigation) needed to be completely independent from the county,” Hill said.
District Attorney John Sarsfield confirmed that he met with Hill and Miller on the matter. But whether he requested investigative help from the two local law enforcement agencies, Sarsfield replied, “I wouldn’t want to characterize the meeting one way or another.”
Sarsfield may have requested the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office for the investigation, according to a source close to the issue. To the notion of going outside the county, Sarsfield declined comment.
A Santa Cruz County deputy district attorney who handles election issues, Morgan Taylor, said he had not heard anything about it.
“I’m the guy who does election issues and Brown Act issues,” Taylor said, “and no one has said anything to me about it.”
As of Monday, the San Benito County District Attorney’s Office was preparing to conduct the investigation itself, according to Sarsfield.
Although, Sarsfield said, “The investigation itself really hasn’t started yet.”
The District Attorney’s Office got involved early last week when the Board of Supervisors approved authorization of an investigation into the District 5 race. The county, through its hired lawyer Nancy Miller, also requested help from the Secretary of State’s Office.
The requested probe arose because of concerns about improperly returned absentee ballots and allegations of Spanish-speaking voter rights violations.
Jaime De La Cruz unofficially defeated two-term incumbent Bob Cruz by 10 votes, and head elections official John Hodges expects to certify the votes March 29. Once that happens, anyone has five days to request a recount.
De La Cruz said investigators had not questioned him as of Monday. Cruz declined to comment.
“I just want to lay low,” De La Cruz said. “All I want to do is wait for the certification to come forward.”
