Chief settles tow truck troubles

Livingston Police Chief Bill Eldridge twice tried to get the City Council to revise a law so tow trucks could park on city streets. Both times the council voted 2-2, and the effort stalled.

On Tuesday night, he told the elected leaders he was using his authority to go above their heads.

"We're not requesting your permission," he told the council. "We're informing you."

This issue, which would have otherwise been rather mundane, was covered by a cloud of politics because the person who gained to benefit (I use that loosely) would be Councilman Rodrigo Espinoza, who contracts with the city to haul off vehicles.

This problem came to light a year ago when a neighbor was upset that Espinoza parked his rig on the street, in violation of city code. Why wasn't the city ticketing him? Was he above the law?

Espinoza needs to keep his tow truck by his house so he can respond quickly to late-night wrecks when there are fewer officers patrolling the city, Eldridge said. It could keep an officer at the scene for an extra 15 minutes otherwise.

This fractured council couldn't agree on changing the policy, even at Eldridge's request. Espinoza didn't take part in the discussions or vote because of his conflict of interest.

The chief recently learned that he has the power to change parking rules. So he did. The council could overrule him, but it'd take a majority vote, which it wouldn't be able to muster on this issue.

Councilman Frank Vierra didn't seem convinced that the change was the right move and argued with the chief about the decision. Little kids could hide behind the tow truck and then dart out into traffic, he said. True, the chief said, but that's the case with any large trucks parked on the road.

"This is not a political issue," he assured the council. "I don't do favoritism."

Both Mayor Gurpal Samra and City Manager Richard Warne backed up the chief, agreeing that the issue was overblown and that Livingston needs to move on.