Two Gilroyans are vying for spots on the county’s Civil Grand
Jury, a watchdog group that eyes local agencies for corruption and
mismanagement. They’ve already made waves in Gilroy, and one may be
among the youngest
– and most liberal – to sit on the panel, if chosen at random
next Thursday.
Gilroy – Two Gilroyans are vying for spots on the county’s Civil Grand Jury, a watchdog group that eyes local agencies for corruption and mismanagement. They’ve already made waves in Gilroy, and one may be among the youngest – and most liberal – to sit on the panel, if chosen at random next Thursday.
Ordinary citizens apply to serve by filling out a six-page application, due in March. Applicants are then interviewed by the Presiding Judge (currently Catherine A. Gallagher), who screens candidates, seeking those who understand the commitment. It’s no side job: Jurors spend between 20 and 40 hours every week investigating everything from welfare to the coroner’s office, said Gloria Chacon, the jury’s court manager. Nor does it rake in cash: Jurors earn $20 per day, whether they spend an entire day slogging through documents or an hour questioning government officials.
Sixteen of the 23 finalists will be picked at random to serve a one-year term, stretching from this July to next. They’ll join three returning members from the 2006-2007 jury.
Gilroy’s candidates include Joseph M. Lugo, a retired deputy probation officer who once helped manage the nonprofit Community Solutions, and Edward Delgado, past president of the League of United Latin American Citizens’ Gilroy chapter.
Lugo, 53, is among the younger candidates to serve on the Grand Jury, which skews toward retirees, said Chacon. His interests are mental health, nonprofits and the justice system.
“I’m very liberal – that ‘L’ word they hate – and the judge said I’d be the youngest and probably the most liberal of all of them,” Lugo said. “I’ve been waiting to serve for the past 10 years, but I never could – I was employed.”
Delgado, 57, a retired carpenters’ union representative, once served as the treasurer of LULAC statewide. He helped initiate the local Restorative Justice Program and pressed for bilingual emergency dispatchers to aid Gilroy residents. Delgado also has experience as an investigator: As a carpenters’ trust fund agent, he audited companies and looked into grievances lodged by union members. Immigration issues and education are his main interests.
“I’m retired now and I have some time on my hands,” said Delgado. “This grand jury opportunity seemed pretty cool.”
California and Nevada are the only two U.S. states that employ civil grand juries. Over the past five years, the jury has delved into a wide range of issues, including racial profiling by San Jose police, the operations of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, and county efforts to curb West Nile Virus. Anyone can submit a topic for investigation through Citizen Complaint Forms, available on the jury’s Web site, www.sccsuperiorcourt.org/jury/gj.html.
Grand jury investigations have spurred changes at the county Children’s Shelter and focused attention on escapes from Elmwood Jail, said Chacon. But the grand jury has its critics: Recently, the jury singled out Gilroy’s emergency communications center for criticism in a report on disaster preparedness countywide, claiming that the city’s emergency personnel records for callbacks are out-of-date. City officials said they weren’t, and were baffled by the finding, especially since jurors said they were based on interviews with Gilroy staff.
“We have serious questions about the validity of that finding,” said Fire Captain Roy Shackel, the city’s assistant Office of Emergency Services coordinator, in an interview earlier this month. “I couldn’t venture a guess as to what they found to be out of date.”
The Grand Jury has stood by its findings. Chacon cited a different problem with the Civil Grand Jury: Homogeneity.
“They do tend to be Caucasian retirees,” she said. “The time commitment is enormous and the compensation isn’t great.”
But the court is trying to recruit women, younger people and minorities, she added. Notably, both of Gilroy’s grand jury hopefuls are Latino.
