Nearly two years after the FBI raided former Supervisor Andrew Do’s home as part of an investigation that saw him go to prison for accepting bribes and rerouting millions of dollars, his former colleagues are still wrestling with how to make sure no one else picks up where he left off.
That discussion reignited this week after county supervisors got to speak publicly with their auditors about a new report highlighting the county might’ve lost even more than the $10 million in contracts they knew Do interfered with.
Read: Audit Finds More Questionable Spending From Convicted Former OC Supervisor
Auditors highlighted a culture at the county where a county supervisor like Do had the final say on many of the county’s big purchases, noting “a culture where decisions related to District 1 contracts were not to be questioned.”
To review a copy of the auditor’s report, click here.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento highlighted how that culture went as high as the CEO’s office, noting a conversation he had with former CEO Frank Kim when he raised concerns about Do’s spending.
“I said, ‘Can you explain what happened with this inquiry?’“ Sarmiento said. “I remember the response graphically, which was ‘I (Frank) checked with the supervisor’s (Do’s) chief of staff and he said that it was.’”
“There were people trying to draw attention to this, and those in positions of more executive authority disregarded those,” he continued. “That is a fatal flaw in our government.”
Supervisors have already adopted a series of reforms aimed at limiting future efforts to reroute money, including changing the county’s contracting rules to require more contracts requiring public bidding, but auditors also recommended a suite of new transparency measures.
While supervisors floated a series of new ideas for reform on Tuesday, they didn’t take any substantive actions to push those forward.
Multiple supervisors discussed how essential their fraud hotline is for employees to report abuse, but a Voice of OC investigation last year found that many of the reports to the hotline don’t see a follow-up.
Read: Can OC Workers Really Depend on the County Fraud Hotline?
Charles Barfield, general manager of the OC Employees Association, said county staff don’t trust the hotline in a statement last April.
“The main reason employees hesitate to report concerns is a culture of fear that exists throughout the County,” Barfield wrote. “Many believe the hotline is neither anonymous nor trustworthy, with some experiencing backlash after reporting issues. Until these issues are resolved, the hotline will not be effective.”
Supervisor Katrina Foley also noted the hotline “doesn’t seem to work,” and questioned whether the new rules they were putting in place would have much impact
“People would elevate their complaint through the chain of command, it didn’t seem to work,” Foley said. “What’s to say all the new protocols we have now will work?”
Foley also asked county staff to beef up the transparency of their website, noting that it was hard to navigate.
“We do not have a good website,” Foley said. “If it’s there, it’s not easily found.”
Supervisor Janet Nguyen called for more investigations into 360 Health Clinic, the county’s lead COVID-19 tester in the early days of the pandemic, which auditors flagged a series of concerns over, and for more investigations into Do’s political fundraising.
“This is not something just on Andrew Do,” Nguyen said. “We’re going to hold people accountable, not just the one individual.”
Sarmiento again called for reforms to the county’s ethics officer, calling the current setup “toothless,” and brought up expanding their power.
He also called to make board members’ calendars public online.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org.
