Sheriff Bill Brown may face a tough challenge in the upcoming June primary election as he squares off against two of his own lieutenants, but in terms of finances, he is coasting to victory.
As of May 25, Santa Barbara’s incumbent sheriff had raised more than a quarter million dollars with roughly $93,000 cash on hand. His opponents meanwhile, Lts. Brian Olmstead and Eddie Hsueh, have accrued roughly half those numbers, with Olmstead far outpacing Hsueh with nearly $124,000 raised but just $7,669 in cash available. Hsueh’s finances appear to be somewhere around $2,000 in donations and spending, according to county records. On April 30, Hsueh issued a letter of explanation about why he hadn’t been filing contributions within the 24-hour required time limit.
In his letter, Hsueh said he was new to the political process and thought he would be able to amend the filings at a later date closer to the election.
At least where money is concerned, the race is a two-man affair between Brown and Olmstead. The incumbent sheriff has thus far spent around $170,000 on his campaign: using the funds on political advertisements on TV and in print. Brown spent at least a combined $12,000 in print advertising with the Santa Barbara News-Press, the Santa Maria Times, the Santa Barbara Independent, and the Sun.
Brown’s television costs are significantly higher, with one broadcast firm, Studio 8, receiving more than $66,000 from Brown’s campaign. Brown spent an additional $15,000 on TV, print, and radio adds, as well as $20,000 for “campaign literature and mailings.”
Olmstead, meanwhile, has spent a little more than $117,000 to date. He’s spent more than half of that amount on television advertisements. Another large expenditure included $9,000 to Mary Rose and Associates, a political consulting firm.
On May 25, Brown’s most visible challenger told the Sun the disparity in spending and campaign contributions were a tough hurdle for his campaign to jump as the June 5 election approaches.
“It’s definitely a challenge to overcome the amount of commercials and information he is putting out there,” Olmstead said. “He’s spent quite a bit more.”
The current Sheriff’s Office lieutenant pointed to Brown’s tenure of more than a decade as sheriff as one of the reasons for his impressive fundraising numbers and spending this election season.
“He’s had these contacts for years,” Olmstead added. “Maybe some people feel that it’s easier to give money to the existing sheriff rather than the opponent obviously.”
Olmstead noted that some of Brown’s larger donations came from outside the county.
Brown has received considerable support from other areas in terms of political players: both Gov. Jerry Brown and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) have endorsed him.
When asked by the Sun what his reaction was to the out-of-county support, Olmstead said: “What does the governor or Dianne Feinstein really know about public safety in Santa Barbara County?”
Olmstead has received his fair share of endorsements as well, including the county’s Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, and two county supervisors.
He said his focus in the remaining days leading up to the election was “getting his name out there.”
Since announcing his candidacy earlier this year, Olmstead, and his fellow challenger Hsueh, have been open in criticizing Brown’s management of the Sheriff’s Office. Both have questioned Brown’s practices, including years of mandatory overtime and staffing levels affected by those hours due to minimal investment in recruitment or retaining current employees.
A Santa Barbara County grand jury report released on May 9 stated the practice of mandatory overtime had “become a de facto element” in the Sheriff Office’s personnel and budget management, costing the county millions of dollars and damaging the sheriff’s ability to recruit new deputies.
“Substantial, sustained overtime requirements, including a mandatory overtime policy for custody deputies for most of the past 15 years, raise important questions about the Sheriff’s Office priorities, commitment to personnel, and management of resources,” the grand jury stated following the report’s release.
Olmstead told the Sun at the time that the information found in the report had been known by deputies for years. He said it was “unfortunate” the issue hadn’t been addressed.
“The report is validating,” Olmstead added.
Hsueh published a commentary in several newspapers, including the Sun, after the report went public. In the column, he cited a Sheriff’s Office HR report in 2016 that found 74 percent of deputies who left the office joined other agencies. In 2017, the number was 72 percent, and Hsueh said that 2018 is “poised for even higher.”
According to Hsueh, the office currently has 50 unfilled positions, which is contributing to overtime hours and fatigue among employees.
“Losing valued personnel increases our recruiting and training costs, increases overtime expenses, and causes stress on personnel,” he wrote. “It robs us of valuable experience vital to keeping the public safe.”
Olmstead added that the revelations found in the report are emblematic of issues currently plaguing the Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s frustrating, and a lot of the employees are frustrated because it doesn’t seem like the department has addressed these problems or concentrated on them,” he said. “We don’t have a plan right now. We run from crisis to crisis unfortunately, and we are not solving problems.”
To win the June 5 election, one of the three sheriff candidates needs to attain a simple majority, or more than 50 percent of the vote. If that number is not reached by a single candidate, the top two vote getters will compete in a runoff on Nov. 6.
That scenario, Olmstead told the Sun, is his most likely path to victory.
“I think with the shortened time frame when I came out and the fact that there’s three candidates, as much as I’d like to take it in June, I think the math would be pretty difficult,” he said. “I think the plan is really just get through June and then go head-to-head with [Brown] in November.”
Staff Writer Spencer Cole can be reached at scole@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 31 – Jun 7, 2018.