Coroner candidates argue strengths and differences

Coroner Robert Foucrault injured his knee twice, ending law enforcement aspirations but putting him on a path working his way from body remover and autopsy technician to joining the office in 1992 and eventually becoming its head.

Foucrault, 47, has served as coroner for nearly a decade, when he moved from deputy coroner after the 2001 death of Adrian "Bud” Moorman. Nevares, 36, worked under Foucrault from 2003 to 2007, leaving for personal reasons and currently working as an analyst with the UCSF police department. She unsuccessfully ran against Foucrault in 2006 as a write-in candidate.

Nevares has an advanced degree. Foucrault was elected president of the California State Coroner’s Association.

While Nevares and Foucrault appear to have little in common — age, education and experience to name a few — there is one matter on which both wholeheartedly agree: They want voters to choose them in June.

The contested race not only asks the electorate to get up to speed on each candidate but also pulls back the curtain on an elected office which often works less publicly than its county counterparts and which frankly many residents would probably rather not consider.

Yet, both Nevares and Foucrault say the office is more than just body removal and autopsies — it is also death investigation, arranging cremation for the indigent and innovative programs for at-risk youth.

The key, for Nevares, is compassion.

"You’ve got to help the people left behind,” she said.

If elected, Nevares plans for the office to more readily offer resources to families like receiving veterans’ death benefits, go into senior centers to discuss end of life legalities like Do Not Resuscitate forms and make sure that the personal property of the deceased are returned to next of kin.

Foucrault said his office goes beyond state mandates, offering outreach like the recently launched Save-A-Life program which gives teens ordered by the court a three-hour look at how reckless behavior like intoxicated driving leads to jail or death.

Nevares said she actually created a more extensive prevention program for teens during her time in the Coroner’s Office but that it fell on deaf ears as did other suggestions made by staff during her tenure. Foucrault disagrees, describing her claim as "unfair.”

Foucrault is meeting budgetary challenges in part by only conducting toxicology tests in suicide cases if they first test preemptively for the presence of drugs and alcohol. Nevares counters that the plan is insensitive to the families of suicides and that Foucrault could likely find savings if he put the toxicology contract and others out to bid for competitive pricing.

"His solution to the economy shows a complete disinterest in the office,” Nevares said.

She also believes the office could work with an expanded array of cemeteries to provide burial and cremation services for the indigent.

Although the position does not require education higher than a high school diploma, Nevares — who has an MBA — questions why Foucrault never sought a degree. Foucrault said his experience is ample and that a financially-strapped upbringing made him unable to finish.

These differences of opinion are but a minor example of the rancor between the two candidates. While Nevares said she is running to bring her unique perspective and make a difference, she admittedly also wants to change the office as it is under Foucrault. Foucrault has called Nevares an ex-employee with an ax to grind and thinks she’d rather fling accusations than sell her own merits with a ballot statement.

The not-so-invisible elephant in the room in the race is what happened just prior to the 2006 race — sexual harassment complaints and allegations of pornographic views, anatomically correct birthday cakes and inappropriate comments about sexuality sparked by a former employee who threatened to sue. The allegations that Foucrault knowingly headed an office pervaded by off-color behavior led the County Manager’s Office to monitor the Coroner’s Office for a year and the entire office underwent training and a zero-tolerance policy.

Foucrault said the office "never got back to where it was” in terms of morale but that there have not been any resurgence in the five years since the claims came to light. Foucrault chalks them up to a "subversive individual” who no longer works for the office but said the onus was on him to fix an attitude that existed when he took over.

"It was my responsibility and corrected it,” he said.

Nevares believes the office is not a positive work environment based on her experience within it and communication with both current employees and residents who’ve had frustrating interactions.

"I want to bring dignity and respect back to the office,” Nevares said.

And Foucrault’s goals if kept in office?

To finish projects like the morgue remodel, expand the Save-A-Life program and keep up with technology in the industry.

"There is more to the Coroner’s Office than just picking up bodies,” he said.

Michelle Durand can be reached by e-mail: michelle@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 102.