Vice-Mayor Cooper Transferred to New Post in Sheriff’s Department

Elk Grove Vice-Mayor Jim Cooper has been assigned to a new role in his day job as a captain in the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, fueling speculation that the transfer comes in retaliation for Cooper’s failed campaign for sheriff last year.

The job change, first reported in the Sacramento Bee, moves Cooper from his post overseeing the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force to a more bureaucratic-sounding—but still command—position in charge of the department’s administrative and technical services.

Sheriff Scott Jones, who narrowly beat out Cooper for the position last November in a race that left both men over $100,000 in debt, did not return calls from Elk Grove Patch Friday. He told the Bee the change in responsibilities was part of a normal rotation process.

Cooper declined to comment on whether he saw the reassignment, which takes effect next month, as payback for the election campaign. But he did say his efforts to take a leadership role on the frontlines combating gang violence had been rebuffed.

“I’m the most experienced captain in the department in the arena of gangs and narcotics,” he said. “With all the gang homicides that are occurring, I offered up my services to help combat our gang problem, but it fell on deaf ears.”

As for Cooper’s other job at 8401 Laguna Palms Way, that one is secure for the moment—the councilmember’s term lasts through 2012.