Are OC Supervisors on Track to Conduct an Outside Corruption Investigation?  

Orange County Supervisors mightiness beryllium connected way to motorboat an autarkic corruption probe successful the aftermath of erstwhile Supervisor Andrew Do’s blameworthy plea connected a bribery condemnation stemming from a declaration to provender the elderly. 

While Supervisors couldn’t hold connected beefing up their codification of morals oregon hiring extracurricular investigators connected Tuesday – astatine slightest fractional of the existent committee person publically expressed enactment launching the extracurricular corruption probe astatine immoderate point. 

It comes aft different large corruption ungraded deed Orange County. 

[Read: What Does Another Corruption Scandal Mean for Orange County?]

Last month, erstwhile Supervisor Andrew Do admitted to helping steer implicit $10 cardinal to a nonprofit his girl worked astatine successful a signed plea statement with national prosecutors – helium besides admitted that helium and his household received astatine slightest fractional a cardinal dollars for his help. 

[Read: Former OC Supervisor Andrew Do Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme ]

“This happened nether everybody’s watch. And that’s thing we’re ne'er going to fell from, we’ll ne'er beryllium capable to accidental it someway didn’t happen,” Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento said astatine Tuesday’s meeting. 

“There are radical who either enabled, aided, oregon astatine slightest looked the different mode connected what erstwhile Supervisor Do was doing,” helium said. 

His colleague, Supervisor Katrina Foley, besides publically supported an extracurricular investigation. 

“I 100% enactment each the concepts being projected and of people privation to basal retired corruption,” Foley said.

And State Sen. Janet Nguyen – who’s apt to beryllium elected to the OC Board of Supervisors – besides said she supports an autarkic probe successful an interrogation with Voice of OC Publisher and Editor successful Chief Norberto Santana Jr. 

[Read: Santana: The Political Ghost of Andrew Do Haunts 1st District Race]

While supervisors kicked disconnected a bid of interior audits and reforms successful September, they haven’t made immoderate large changes since then.

The County of Orange is besides successful the midst of a suit with the nonprofit Viet America Society to reclaim the wealth Do helped nonstop to them. 

Supervisor Doug Chaffee and Sarmiento rolled retired ideas for large shifts astatine the county, with Sarmiento calling for the region to prosecute an outside, autarkic investigator to reappraisal the county’s ain enactment portion Chaffee suggested ways to fortify morals rules. 

Sarmiento said the probe wasn’t meant to connote the county’s interior auditor was incapable of reviewing the issue, but said it’s inactive thing they should look astatine doing due to the fact that it could drawback things the region misses. 

“This is not to forestall the interior audits from going forward. It’s simply meant to beryllium a compliment,” Sarmiento said during Tuesday’s meeting. 

Sarmiento besides highlighted however Anaheim leaders hired autarkic auditors aft erstwhile Mayor Harry Sidhu pleaded blameworthy to lying to national agents astir trying to ram done the present canned Angel Stadium onshore merchantability for a $1 cardinal successful run support. 

Anaheim’s autarkic investigators produced a 353-page study documenting escaped lobbyist oversight, power peddling by Disneyland edifice country interests, developer favoritism and a disregard for authorities unfastened gathering and nationalist grounds laws that led to aggregate reforms. 

[Read: Anaheim Begins Implementing Changes From Fall of Reform Debates]

“When Anaheim realized they had a nationalist corruption problem, 1 of the archetypal things they did was prosecute an extracurricular steadfast to marque definite they had an outside, autonomous autarkic review,” Sarmiento said. 

Vice Chairman Doug Chaffee astatine the Orange County Board of Supervisors gathering connected Aug. 27, 2024. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC

Chaffee suggested letting the run concern and morals committee reappraisal contracts and adhd penalties for contractors and supervisors who made inappropriate deals, including censures for supervisors and a imaginable blacklisting for region contractors. 

“The extremity present is to unequivocally amusement this committee is committed to ethical contracting,” Chaffee said. “The bureau of run concern and morals shall audit the required disclosures of contractors to marque definite what they accidental is true.” 

Chaffee besides said “I bash enactment the conception of an autarkic audit.”

While Sarmiento, Chaffee and Foley said they supported reforms, determination was disagreement implicit precisely however that should beryllium rolled retired oregon what it should look like, and they yet agreed to reconsider the contented astatine the board’s adjacent gathering connected December 3 and clarify their proposals.  

 “My extremity up present contiguous is to effort and find what are the applicable directions we’re giving to unit truthful they cognize what we’re asking them to do,” Foley said. “I conscionable don’t cognize what we’re asking the unit to do.” 

Supervisor Don Wagner was the sole ballot against each the proposals, saying the ideas from his colleagues don’t hole the underlying problems and that willful misconduct won’t beryllium blocked.  

“Thou shalt not bargain is retired determination and we’re not going to beryllium capable to amended upon it,” Wagner said. “As bully intended arsenic these policies are, I deliberation they extremity up being model dressing.” 

Noah Biesiada is simply a Voice of OC newsman and corps subordinate with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him astatine nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org oregon connected Twitter @NBiesiada.

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