Prison Guards' Clout Called `Disturbing'

Special Master John Hagar accused Schwarzenegger of backpedaling and warned that California was returning to an era when union leaders were allowed to "overrule the most critical decisions" of prison administrators.

Hagar, whose findings were spelled out in a 34-page report, linked the turnaround to the governor's January appointment of Susan Kennedy, a one-time aide to former Gov. Gray Davis, as his chief of staff.

Within four months of her hiring, Hagar said, two of Schwarzenegger's handpicked Corrections Department chiefs had resigned amid concerns that union officials were being given too much say over appointments and other management moves.

After their departures, Hagar said, prison leaders were "confused, understaffed, dispirited, and most important, uncertain who is really in charge" -- the head of the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or the president of the union, known as the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn.

Hagar's draft report is ultimately intended for U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who presides over two ongoing cases involving California's severely overcrowded and widely maligned prison system. First, however, Hagar will hold a July hearing so the union and state can raise objections.

Hagar said he would ask the judge for authority to further investigate the recent resignations of the corrections secretaries and other "disturbing developments," which he said could wipe out two years of "productive" prison reform. As part of that inquiry, Hagar said he would hold public hearings, at which Kennedy and a second top aide to the governor -- Cabinet Secretary Fred Aguiar -- would be called to testify.

At the union's West Sacramento headquarters, Executive Vice President Chuck Alexander called the report a collection of "unfounded, inaccurate accusations" and lambasted Hagar for "not vetting these issues before putting pen to paper."

Alexander also disputed Hagar's assertion that the union holds great sway with the governor: "Do we now have somebody who is willing to listen to our issues? Yes. Do we have the influence he claims? Let me tell you, if we had that, there would be a lot more people gone and a system that works much better than the one we've got."