Candidate for
Sheriff; County of San Diego

To you the most important part of this process:

It is not only necessary to establish Principle Centered Leadership, at the top of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, it is mandatory to meet the societal demands for quality of service.

I have been in San Diego County law enforcement service for 26 years. I have 3 college degrees. I have two teaching credentials. I have spent half of my career on the front lines as a supervisor.

I have spent the past 26 years studying law enforcement as an educator. I have dedicated the past 12 years to the specific study of restructuring, establishing standards, ethics, morals and values.

I have studied the works of authors such as James Champy, in his books addressing the need to reengineer the corporation and then (he identified the need) to reengineer corporate management - we, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, are so far behind these needs that we must start immediately here in San Diego.

We need to move forward into the reality of this new century and the demands so clearly demonstrated to the world on September 11th, 2001.

The men and women providing front line law enforcement services to you have not received one (1) piece of new safety equipment to help defend themselves, or you, from the obvious and committed threats we now know we will encounter. Instead the current sheriff's administration has chosen to rebated some $70 million dollars to the County's General Fund - saying, essentially, I have spent all I want to and you may have the rest. A deputy was shot in the face in Spring Valley in January 2002 - he did not have a ballistic shield to assist him when searching fo "a man with a gun." I know this is wrong. You know this is wrong.

I would ask that you visit my web site: http://www.bruff4sheriff.com for more information on these things.

My web site reveals some of the issues you really need to know to be informed - like the one cited above.

It is not my intent to defame anyone in any way - but you need to know that we have spent nearly $2 billion dollars on sheriff's department operations since 1994, and we still don't have the Regional Crime Lab that was promised to you/us 8 years ago. We still allow the Camp Nimitz training facility to sit idle since 1996 when I volunteered my time as a speaker for the S.D. community to obtain this most valuable facility to create a world class regional sefety training center. These things are obviously not a priority to the current administration - I believe, very strongly, these facilities must be completed and these actions must be 0taken to allow us, the San Diego community, to move forward into the future - from the past.

This sheriff's campaign is not about personality - it is about performance. The current administration (all of them) have had the opportunity, and funding, to do anything they chose to do. Yet, the sheriff's department only leads in size and cost. The performances you receive is mediocre at best - I know this I am involved in it every day.

I will give you Law Enforcement Committed to Excellence, through principle centered leadership, better training, measurable standards, and expectations clearly articulated and documented. I will model the behavior(s)I will desire and demand as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of this County.

A recent study commissioned by this administration that we spent, I understand, $130 thousand dollars for - concluded that the primary motivator within the San Diego Sheriff's Department is "Popularity."

I am available to answer all of your questions.

I had hoped to answer many questions on the KOGO radio show Roger Hedgecock on January 30th, 2002.

A debate between Bill Kolender and me was suddenly and inexplicably cancelled. This debate had been scheduled for over a month and after a brief presentation in Pacific Beach on January 12th, 2002, at a Republican event, I received a sudden notice on January 23, 2002 that the debate was cancelled.

There have been no televised debates this campaign year and yet the sheriff's department is one of the most expensive operations to the county tax payers.

This administration won the San Diego County Tax Payers Association's "Golden Fleece Award" in 2000 for spending $16 million dollars on overtime in FY:1999/2000 - this was not really over spending because money was returned to the General Fund. I can stop this waste.

So, please take the time to visit my web site, call me, e-mail me or host a forum or debate - I will committ to an event right here in writing.

Thank you for your time. Remember to vote - and I would love your vote for sheriff on March 05th. I promise, here in writing, to accomplish and fulfill what I've said here. It can and will be done.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bruce Ruff