Riverside County should tear up
its contract with its top lawyer and search for a new county counsel, according
to a civil grand jury report released Thursday, July 2.
The report, which comes at the
end of the 19-member panel’s term, is the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute
between the grand jury, a court-appointed government watchdog, and Greg
Priamos, the head of the county counsel office.
Jurors contend Priamos, the
former attorney for the city of Riverside, deliberately obstructs their probes
of county agencies by denying access to requested information. Priamos has said
the grand jury doesn’t understand his job as county government’s legal adviser.
The latest grand jury report,
“Riverside County Board of Supervisors Transparency/Grand Jury Interference,”
referred to testimony from an unnamed supervisor’s chief of staff.
When asked how extensive the
2014 search was for retiring County Counsel Pamela Walls’s replacement, the
chief of staff is quoted as saying “three blocks,” a reference to the distance
between county headquarters and Riverside City Hall.
“Although not required, the
Board of Supervisors chose not to use competitive procedures,” the grand jury
found.
The report calls for the board
to “allow full transparency in all operations of the county” and for the
county’s contract with Priamos to be “nullified.”
“The Board of Supervisors shall
conduct an actual, advertised recruitment for the position of County Counsel so
that the best qualified candidate can be appointed as County Counsel,” the
report recommends.
In an emailed statement,
Priamos said: “The grand jury has not liked the way I represent my client's
legal interests. It is not surprising that a report like this would be issued at
the very end of the grand jury's term.”
Board of Supervisors Chairman
Marion Ashley backed Priamos.
“Mr Priamos is doing a fine job
and the board is very happy with his representation as county counsel,” he
wrote in an email. “He was hired after the board interviewed several
candidates.”
The county has 90 days to
officially respond to the report.
RETALIATION?
The grand jury consists of
citizens who apply for the job and are sworn by a Superior Court judge. Their
term lasts from July 1 to June 30, after which a new grand jury is empaneled.
There can be holdovers from the prior grand jury.
Thursday’s report refers to an
April 2014 grand jury report critical of how county supervisors spend special
community funds. Each supervisor receives an annual allotment of Community
Improvement Designation funds to spend on charities and other causes.
July 2, 2015
The
Press-Enterprise
By Jeff
Horseman
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