vacate or making room for "friends" ~ now they will get paid why not volunteer?

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3 sheriff's officials vacate their posts
Kaelin says his leadership style and theirs clashed

By mary ann cavazos Caller-Times
December 5, 2006


Three out of 10 officials in the Nueces County Sheriff's command staff have vacated their posts in the past week either by resignation, removal or retirement.

Sheriff Jim Kaelin said he spoke with the three staff members and offered them options including retirement after he felt they were not meeting his expectations.





"My management style has been participatory, not dictatorial which has been reflected by others in the past," Kaelin said.

Janie Suarez, who was removed from the assistant chief of jail administration post, opted not to retire or resign, Kaelin said adding he would not go into specifics citing personnel issues.

Captain of Corrections Arthur Barrera decided to retire and Vidal DeLaCerda, who was the captain of patrol, gave his resignation.

Kaelin said the shifts in staffing are part of a plan to improve the jail's effectiveness.

"We're looking at all areas of operations. The process has been going on since I was sworn in," he said.

Interviews for the positions will be scheduled for all three posts and an interim assistant chief of jail administration will be named until a replacement can be found.

Last month, Kaelin chose John Galvan, a retired DPS officer, to be his chief deputy. Jimmy Rodriguez, who lost the race for sheriff to Kaelin, previously held the post. Kaelin, who was sworn in as sheriff last month, has vowed to make improvements to the facility a priority.

Earlier this year federal and state jail inspectors found problems with food services, plumbing, water and hygiene, which ultimately led to the removal of federal prisoners in June.

The jail has also failed numerous state inspections.

Contact Mary Ann Cavazos at 886-3623 or HYPERLINK mailto:cavazosm@caller.com cavazosm@caller.com