News - Local

Published: Thursday, Jul. 16, 2009

SLO County Sheriff candidate Ian Parkinson denies unfair advantage

A critic tied to another candidate claims Ian Parkinson’s brother wrote the answers on a 2001 sergeant exam

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Ian Parkinson, the San Luis Obispo police captain who is running for county sheriff, is facing allegations that he received help from his brother in answering essay questions on the job application for his 2001 sergeant exam.

The level and nature of that help is what is being debated.

Former San Luis Obispo police Officer Mike Brennler alleges Eric Parkinson, brother of Ian Parkinson and an attorney in San Luis Obispo, wrote answers that Ian submitted to three questions on that application.

Ian Parkinson denies the allegation, saying that his brother only proofread and made suggestions about his own answers.

Brennler retired from the department in 2003, was active in the San Luis Obispo Police Officers’ Association and is now a business partner of another potential candidate for sheriff.

“This is not about me endorsing one candidate or another,” Brennler said. “This is about the public’s right to know.”

His partner in a union consulting firm is Dale Strobridge, the former president of the POA. Strobridge is now a sergeant in the county Sheriff’s Department and president of the county Deputy Sheriffs’ Association.

Strobridge has repeatedly told the Tribune that he has not made a decision about whether he will run for sheriff.

Brennler said he took and failed the same sergeant exam administered later that year. He believes that his test score was a form of retribution because he had been active in the POA, pointing out that he had not failed prior tests.

The test that both Brennler and Parkinson took in March 2001 was never scored. Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Burke ruled the test invalid in October of that year, and he ruled that any changes in the test had to be negotiated with the union.

Then-Chief Jim Gardiner had included questions on that problematic test that concerned management’s relationship with the POA.

As part of what Brennler believes is proof that Eric Parkinson wrote the answers, Brennler cites an e-mail from Eric Parkinson to his brother mentioning a “revised letter.” Brennler produced other e-mails that show there were communications between Ian and Eric very early in the testing process.

Ian Parkinson said he wrote the draft answers, because they were specifically about department issues that his brother doesn’t know about. He gave The Tribune what he said were first and the later drafts. What he said was the final product was shorter, but not substantially different.

Brennler said a department employee found the e-mails on Ian Parkinson’s computer, which was open at the time in 2001, and gave them to the union. Brennler said he will not identify the employee because he does not want the employee to get in any trouble.

Ian Parkinson said that he first heard about the issue in 2004, when he received an e-mail followed by a letter from Brennler. He said he believes the e-mails were stolen from his computer.

The application was not a scored part of the sergeant test. But Gardiner said in his deposition in the 2001 case that the answers “were another written document that I could make an assessment on writing skills, problem-solving skills, and one I thought was relevant to the organization.”

Monica Irons, the city’s human resources director, said the application itself did not count toward the total test. It did have an additional written portion, a promotional qualification portion and an oral test.

It’s not unusual, Irons said, for others to review applications.

“I strongly encourage people to have friends, co-workers, family review cover letters before they are submitted,” she said.