from the Times-Standard

Gallegos heads for DA win

EUREKA -- It looks like Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos will get another four years as the county's top cop.

In the bitterest race in the June election, Gallegos had 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Deputy District Attorney Worth Dikeman, with 94 percent of the vote counted at press time.

Over the last few weeks the candidates traded jabs, with accusations of lying, office mismanagement and the issue of the relationship of the DA's office with law enforcement agencies.

Scores of Gallegos and Measure T supporters crammed into the second floor of the Lost Coast Brewery on Tuesday night, initially cautiously optimistic. Later, as results began to trickle in, the crowd became electrified, buzzing with what seemed like an assured win.

DA race Q&A

Worth Dikeman responds

Challenger; deputy district attorney

Q: What is the single most damaging law enforcement problem facing Humboldt County right now?

A: Methamphetamine

Q: What could be done to help insulate the District Attorney's Office from lapses in grant funding, considering the levels at which the department is currently grant dependent?

A: The DA should communicate fully with the board on the financial needs of the office. The DA should work closely with all other department heads with an eye towards partnering with them on common issues. However, grant funding is a necessary reality and to maximize the available funding, application deadlines should be closely monitored and applications carefully reviewed to ensure that they meet all required criteria. I will aggressively seek new sources of funding including seeking grants for financial elder abuse, as well as animal cruelty, which the incumbent has not thought to explore.

Bear River Band claims Dikeman a racist

Rancheria asks tribes of California to oppose candidate

EUREKA -- The Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria has sent a letter to the tribes of California asking them to oppose Worth Dikeman in the race for Humboldt County district attorney.

"We may not be capable of serving on a jury but we are darn well capable of using our voting clout to keep him out of the DA's office."
--Howard McConnell, Yurok TribeDikeman has been roundly criticized by some members of the American Indian community for seeking to remove jurors of American Indian descent in a past case after saying that employees of tribes were resistant of the criminal justice system.

Loony election heats up

Courthouse protest crashed by surfer girls

EUREKA -- You just can't make this stuff up.

Out in front of the Humboldt County Courthouse for the past two weeks, a small handful of protesters have been waving anti-Worth Dikeman signs, some claiming that the candidate for district attorney in the past discriminated against American Indians in jury selection.

Dikeman denies the claim, and points out that the conviction over which the accusations were made have been repeatedly upheld.

But on Thursday, the protest took a turn toward the ridiculous when the party was crashed by four young women, self-entitled “surf divas” wearing bikini tops and waving signs of their own.

DA candidates trade barbs in KHSU debate

Topics range the spectrum of campaign

ARCATA -- As the last few days of a busy and bitter election season wind down, the two candidates for Humboldt County District Attorney found time to blast each other once more on the public air waves.

Click here to listen to the KHSU and KEET debatesDuring a 90-minute debate on KHSU, incumbent Paul Gallegos and challenger Worth Dikeman squared off with their now well-worn accusations and campaign pillars.

Gallegos again trumpeted the drop in violent crime statistics and prison commitments, while Dikeman challenged the accuracy of those statistics and said the law enforcement community had given Gallegos a vote of “no confidence.”

DA candidates bring big dollars to county race

More than $200,000 raised in campaign for county's top cop

EUREKA -- The money in the district attorney campaign is already more than double the amount spent in the 2002 race.

But the cash pales in comparison to that of the recall election two years ago.

According to figures received by filing deadline Thursday, incumbent District Attorney Paul Gallegos has so far topped his opponent, but not by much.

Gallegos raised $116,005 overall this year -- $84,067 in cash, and $31,937 in in-kind donations. He's spent $127,665, and has $6,197 remaining on hand.

His largest contributors include attorney Michael Acosta with Bear River at $1,000; Sonia Baur of Garberville at $1,000; the Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria at $10,000; C. Bowen of Berkeley at $5,000; Richard Cogswell and Ester Saunoras of Petrolia at $7,000; Orlando P. Gallegos of New Mexico at $10,000; Rory Hanson, a Eureka attorney, at $2,137; Law Offices of Jennifer Keller in Irvine at $2,500; Michael Shellenberger of El Cerrito at $1,000; Dana Soria and Mary Smith of Fortuna at $1,085; Tracy Katelman of Eureka, owner of Evergreen Forestry, at $1,786; and Rob Then of Whitethorn at $3,586.

Inquest to be held in Moore standoff

Hearing likely to occur in July, coroner says

EUREKA -- Coroner Frank Jager said Thursday there will be an inquest into the police shooting of Cheri Moore at the request of District Attorney Paul Gallegos, a rarely used process that will essentially air evidence surrounding the events of April 14.

Moore, 48, was killed after police stormed her apartment after a two-hour-plus standoff during which she brandished a flare gun and threw various objects out of her second story, downtown apartment.

The inquest will involve a randomly selected jury that would hear evidence in the case just like a court hearing. Witnesses will be asked under oath to testify about their knowledge of the death.

Dikeman questions Gallegos' shooting response

DA challenger admits he's 'out of the loop' in Cheri Moore investigation

EUREKA -- Challenger Worth Dikeman accused District Attorney Paul Gallegos of delaying a decision on a recent police shooting for political reasons Thursday, but admitted he was “out of the loop” and unaware of where the investigation stood.

Dikeman said 40 days have passed since the shooting of Cheri Moore, leaving more than enough time for the district attorney to make a charging decision. He said his conclusion was based on past experience and media reports, including details of an April 27 press conference at which Police Chief David Douglas declared the shooting “legal and lawful.”

A Clear Difference in DA Candidate Visions

For his third election in a little more than four years, we endorse Paul Gallegos for DA.
The Times-Standard Body language says a lot. And judging by the unspoken part of Wednesday's televised debate between district attorney candidates Worth Dikeman and Paul Gallegos, it seemed apparent these men don't like each other very much.

Their spoken comments further separated them. Dikeman, a veteran Humboldt County prosecutor, frankly states that his boss has mismanaged the office in a variety of ways, to the detriment of local crime-fighting efforts.

My Word: We're on our way to justice for all

Four years ago we challenged ourselves to build a community that is courageous, compassionate and flexible enough to meet the demands of all of its people; to create an independent District Attorney's office that is more effective, responsive and accountable to the people of the Humboldt County and that focuses not on punishment -- but on community safety and crime prevention; and to bring meaning to the phrase “Justice for All.”

This has not been an easy challenge. On June 6, we are, once again, faced with the question of whether we have the courage and can sustain the commitment to uphold these ideas. Because change is coming to Humboldt County whether we want it or not. While we can affect the character of that change, we cannot affect its inevitability.