On his “I-5 Live” radio show last night, Tom Gascoyne played taped interviews of the DA candidates. Lance Daniel, in his statement, complained that he had “tried to reach out” to me, and that I had rebuffed him.
Turns out that ol’ Lance tried to call me at my office while I was in court. He phoned three times in an hour-and-a-half, and was told three times by my office assistant, brother Dana, that I was at court and not available. Dana also told him that we handle sensitive juvenile cases and do not allow “drop-ins.”
Now Dana may wear a black cowboy hat and be pure country, but there isn’t much that gets past him. He said he had a feeling that Daniel was not going to just give up. “Sure enough, about 20 minutes after his last call, I saw this nicely dressed dude skulking down the corridors and peering at the windows. When he saw our lettering, he straightened up his shoulders, put a smile on his face, and tried to march right into the office. Didn’t know the door was locked, and bonked his noggin a little.”
In that recorded radio interview, Daniel also discussed me. He used dismissive language, indicating that I worked in the Dependency Court, and that most Dependency clients were “child molesters.”
If his ignorance on this one subject is indicative of his overall knowledge, then Daniel lacks what it takes to be District Attorney. Most parents whose children end up in the CPS court are from the working class. A variety of factors causes the intervention of Children’s Services. Only a small portion of those detentions stem from molestation. The goal of the Dependency Court is to return children to safe homes. Children are not sent home to molesters.
In trying to slam me, Daniel has denigrated an entire class of clients and cast aspersions upon my colleagues. He has disrespected the Dependency Court and my judge. He displays an appalling lack of knowledge. His callous arrogance angers me.
Maybe it’s time he packed up his little wagon and went back home to Sacramento.
