Dikeman is clearly 'in bed' with local law enforcement

Dear Editor,

District Attorney Paul Gallegos is absolutely doing the right thing by distancing himself from the police and law enforcement unions by refusing to seek the union endorsements. The fact that those particular unions and some of their members have been so anxious to oppose Mr. Gallegos is an extremely good reason for people to vote Tuesday and keep him in office.

I have a longtime friend who was police chief in the Bronx, N.Y., and police chief of Minneapolis for 10 years who writes books about law enforcement. He is constantly adamant about one thing, and writes:

“The first and most important decision that a law enforcement leader (or elected official) makes is whether they are going to serve the people or throw themselves into bed with the union. ... It will quickly be perceived that the people’s interests and the union’s desires are usually in conflict. ...The most unfortunate omen ... is that the police union praise him or, heaven forbid, endorse his appointment or election.”

It is obvious that Worth Dikeman is in bed with the police unions and many individuals in law enforcement, and is deeply involved and totally entangled with them, so much that he would have a consistent, almost insurmountable conflict of interest trying to do the right thing for individuals arrested for crimes and for the people of Humboldt County.

There is another problem with electing Worth Dikeman, and it’s a big problem. For some reason he and his supporters seem to think that he has some kind of an entitlement to the office. There is some sense of belief that a certain group of people have some kind of ownership interest in the office. Some of those people were stunned and seemingly believed that Paul Gallegos took away something that belonged to them when he won the election four years ago. They want it back; after all, it was theirs for more than 20 years.

District Attorney Paul Gallegos does know that he works for the people. I believe voters should re-elect him for the good of the public.

George Shieman
Eureka/San Francisco