Archive for September, 2006
Wow - that was fast!
Apparently the media is here in Reno as news of CCPOA’s support of Phil Angelides’s campaign to unseat Governor Schwarzenegger has already hit Sacramento sources such as SacBee and has spread to the other usual suspects, the Contra Costa Times, LA Times and San Jose Mercury News.
The SacBee has quoted CCPOA Spokesperson Lance Corcoran at the CCPOA Convention in Reno as saying:
Corcoran said the union is backing Angelides “because running the state of California takes more than an actor of, in many cases, ‘B’ movies.”
“It takes someone who is thoughtful and committed to public service, and Phil Angelides is both of those.”
Corcoran said there was “universal sentiment” at the CCPOA convention “that Arnold Schwarzenegger has done nothing for public safety in California,” even though the governor teamed with the union in 2004 to help defeat a ballot initiative that would have weakened the state’s “three-strikes” sentencing law.
http://dwb.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/14318684p-15240886c.html
The San Jose Mercury News interjected their own thoughts as to why CCPOA backed Angelides over Schwarzenegger:
Angelides addressed the California Correctional Peace Officers Association convention in Reno on Wednesday morning before union members voted to back him over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor declined to seek the union’s endorsement because his administration is in contract negotiations with the union.
Schwarzenegger has had a fraught relationship with the 31,000-member union for the better part of three years. The union has differed with the administration on how best to reform the state’s troubled prison system, which courts are scrutinizing. The prison guard group also was a key member of the union-backed alliance that torpedoed the four ballot initiatives Schwarzenegger championed last year.
Earlier this year, the union’s relationship with the administration briefly thawed. The union spoke openly about potentially endorsing Schwarzenegger — although the governor would have stood to gain if the union had just stayed neutral in the race. A court official blasted the administration for allegedly currying favor with the union to help the governor’s re-election prospects — an allegation the administration has denied.
And in the Contra Costa Times, CCPOA President Mike Jiminez sums up the real reason why support has been given to Angelides and NOT to Governor Schwarzenegger:
“This election is about trust,” union President Mike Jimenez said in a statement. Angelides, he said, “has proven to be a man of principle” who keeps his promises.
Schwarzenegger, the statement continued, has “dabbled in prison reform, retreated, then declared us to be the enemy.”
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/states/california/15458962.htm
We will post more news articles as they become available. It’s going to be a bumpy political ride!
2006 Annual CCPOA Convention
We’re here! The California Correctional Peace Officer’s Association is once again in Reno, Nevada for the annual gathering. Seminars, state-wide meetings, discussions and even a small expo are planned for this week’s agenda.
The usual “why are we back in RENO?!?” complaints can be heard around the hotel - especially from the Southern California locations. Perhaps next year - once the nasty political races are behind us - we can return to a California or even Las Vegas event.
But the location isn’t as important as the information. Attending these events are crucial for a number of reasons - and not the least of which is to brush up on legal information and techniques that can be taken back to the institution and used to help support the membership. The ISP Chapter is facing a lot of issues on the homefront - hopefully what is learned here, and the support given by the State Chapter Office - can help solve some of these problems.
Updates will be posted on the events here - as will be pictures when we can share them. Here’s hoping that all in attendance have a fruitful convention and that the networking done here can be brought home to help throughout the coming months!