Thanks to the Record-Bee and to your columnist Al Duncan for introducing and exploring subjects that are of great concern to our community and nation. For example, we are now facing an election for the positions of County Sheriff and District Attorney. Many people, I”m afraid, are not aware of just how important a sheriff is. Sheriffs were a key part of English common law as early as 870 in the reign of Alfred the Great, and their role in government was codified with the signing of the Magna Carta by King John in 1215. The title meant “Chief of the County” making the sheriff the undisputed center of local government power. The Robin Hood legends portrayed the Sheriff of Nottingham as the bad guy, and Robin Hood as the good guy, who stole from the rich to give to the poor ? but no matter how you cut it, Robin was robbing, which was then, as it is now, against the law, which the sheriff was sworn to uphold.
The first sheriff in America was named in 1641, but he was still only an agent of the crown. However, after the revolution, the Sheriff was no longer assigned just the task of collecting taxes and carrying out his lord”s wishes. Instead he became an elective officer. He served at the will of the people. In Lake County it would appear that in the recent case of Dinius Bismark, the sheriff”s office may have colluded with the District Attorney”s office to level charges against an innocent citizen ? Dinius Bismark ? in order to deflect charges against the sheriff”s colleague, deputy sheriff Russell Perdock. Neither he nor the District Attorney evidently sought the advice of those expert in maritime law, namely the U.S. Coast Guard, before launching their ill-advised attack on Bismark. These transgressions have cost, and will continue to cost, local taxpayers a lot of money. Before the next election I urge the voters to carefully consider if the incumbents have well and truly represented the will of the people, before they cast their votes. And all candidates for the sheriff”s office should remind themselves that very often the sheriff is the authority that stands between the people and over arching government.
Connel Murray
Kelseyville
