Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca can't seem to say no, at least to gifts. As The Times recently reported, Baca has accepted more than $120,000 worth of freebies since taking office in 1998 — including 131 free rounds of golf, tickets to 42 basketball games and concerts, and 22 bottles of wine and liquor. Nearly $45,000 worth was given to him between 2007 and 2009. That's more golf, wine and tickets than the rest of California's 57 sheriffs combined accepted during the same period.
Baca says he doesn't solicit the gifts and that he only takes them because it would be rude not to. He even bemoans the absence of a law that would prohibit him from taking them. Frankly, we don't see why it's so difficult to say no, but as for the lack of a law, we couldn't agree more. County officials could start by adopting new rules making it harder for elected officials to accept freebies. State law currently allows elected officials to receive up to $420 in gifts annually from a single source. At the very least, the county could lower that to $100 for gifts from the companies or individuals with which it does business; that would put its rules on par with current L.A. city guidelines.
