The Board of Supervisors sent a stern message Tuesday to county
department heads: Don’t hire attorneys without our approval.
The Board of Supervisors sent a stern message Tuesday to county department heads: Don’t hire attorneys without our approval.
Supervisor Bob Cruz asked the county counsel to reiterate a policy requiring board approval of private lawyers after head elections official John Hodges hired one without permission.
Law requires the board to approve private lawyers with a two-thirds vote, according to County Counsel Karen Forcum. And Hodges’ lawyer recently sent the county a bill for $1,425.
County officials have been facing pressure because private lawyer fees have skyrocketed in recent years, with the board authorizing nearly $3 million in those costs since 2000.
“There are some procedures, and you cannot just deviate from these procedures,” Cruz said during the meeting.
But Cruz said the discussion Tuesday didn’t apply to the actions of a different private attorney. John Picone in late May sent a letter on behalf of San Benito County to lawyer Mike Pekin warning he may be sued for his part in the county’s election scandal.
The board did not authorize that letter, and no county officials have taken responsibility for it. Among senior officials, only District Attorney John Sarsfield, who has ties to Picone, has confirmed knowing about the letter.
The board’s talk Tuesday, though, was focused only on Hodges. He didn’t attend the meeting because he was tied up at a separate conference for the November election, he said. He sent a letter to supervisors apologizing for his absence.
Hodges in March hired lawyer David Pipal to represent him in a court hearing. Cruz’s wife had filed a motion, which a judge denied, for Hodges to halt the latest election’s certification.
Marian Cruz’s lawsuit seeks to nullify the District 5 race her husband lost by 10 votes, claiming challenger Jaime De La Cruz violated an array of Elections Code laws.
Hodges said he hired the lawyer because the county counsel – who had offered her services – represents the board, thus creating a conflict for her. And the hearing’s sudden scheduling didn’t allow Hodges time to gain board approval, he said.
If Forcum took on the case and won, her future with the county could have been jeopardized, Hodges said.
“They (supervisors) would have told her, ‘Get out of here. You’re not doing what we told you to do.'”
Two months after the election hearing, private attorney John Picone’s letter to Pekin claimed to be on behalf of San Benito County. It was sent after a series of events led Sarsfield to cancel a grand jury’s consideration of indictments against De La Cruz and his campaign adviser. Picone’s letter told Pekin to preserve documents for potential court action.
The letter came after Pekin, on his clients’ behalf, threatened to file documents alleging an affair between Sarsfield and his office manager that compromised his objectivity – if Sarsfield didn’t drop the grand jury. Eventually he canceled it and later called Pekin’s actions extortion.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Sarsfield approached the podium at the outset of Cruz’s criticism of Hodges.
Sarsfield voluntarily spoke and emphasized the board discussion had nothing to do with him. Though he added his position as district attorney gives him some legal authority to initiate civil litigation, such as lawsuits related to commercial activity in the county. Sarsfield didn’t mention the Picone letter.
Cruz followed up by complimenting Sarsfield for being up front about hiring lawyers.
“But you always touch base with the CAO or the county counsel,” Cruz said. “There’s nothing you’re doing secretly.”
Forcum on Tuesday said she did not know whether Sarsfield requested the Picone letter.
When approached about the Picone letter after Tuesday’s meeting, Sarsfield declined to comment.
