Almaden Resident

News

Almaden duo serve as government 'watchdogs'

By Monica Heger

Two Almaden Valley residents will be keeping careful watch over local government for the next year. Dave Burnham and Ron Layman were among the 19 Santa Clara County residents selected to serve on the civil grand jury starting on July 1. The watchdog group is part of the judicial branch of Superior Court charged with examining any aspect of county and city government and special districts. In the past, the jury has investigated and made recommendations on such topics as racial profiling, school spending, childhood obesity and how to reduce language barriers in domestic violence calls.

Burnham sees his appointment as a way to contribute to the community now that he's retired and has the time to fill the one-year position.

"To the degree that I can contribute, I want to make sure that we're effective, that we investigate fully and professionally, and that our recommendations are well thought-out so the organizations and government can function more effectively for the people," Burnham said.

This is not the first time Burnham has been involved with local government. He served two years on the advisory committee for the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, making recommendations about funding for different city projects. He became interested in serving on the grand jury after reading through past investigations.

"I looked at all the various investigations from previous years to see what types of things the [jury] got involved in as a watchdog agency," said Burnham, who had applied for a seat on the jury twice previously. "I wanted to see if it was something substantive as opposed to cosmetic, and I was convinced that the grand jury makes substantive contributions."

While Burnham is new to the grand jury, Layman is starting his second stint as a juror.

He said one of the more interesting cases he worked on during his previous tenure involved security issues following the 9-11 attacks. He said the grand jury was involved with improving security at the airport and also with VTA, making sure service was not interrupted.

Layman wanted to serve on the grand jury because he "saw an opportunity to do something productive that would be beneficial to my family and my neighbors."

Layman said the grand jury has three main responsibilities. One is the oversight of the county's youth and inmates, making sure they are receiving the proper care. The second is reviewing every citizen complaint that comes before it. And the third is continuing investigations started by previous grand juries.

"People don't realize what the grand jury does unless it's something sensational," Layman said.

Anyone who is interested can apply to serve on the jury. Jurors must commit to a minimum of 25 hours of service per week. Every applicant is required to go through an interview process. Each jury is intended to represent a broad cross-section of the county. The list of applicants is eventually narrowed down to 29, and then 19 names are chosen randomly to serve, and the others are alternates.

For more information on the grand jury and to read past reports, visit www.sccsuperiorcourt.org.