Editor:
As a lifelong Liberal and huge supporter of Unions, I will probably shock my friends by saying: “There has to be something wrong with this”.
Election time, one of the most prized endorsements is from the police union leadership. And not too surprisingly, their endorsees generally win. In our small city, for example, those elected council members select the city manager whose responsibilities include negotiating the police contract. And what should be to the surprise of no one, that negotiated contract is pretty attractive for the Chief and his (or her) officers. How can it be otherwise? An angry union negotiator can call their endorsed council members who can put pressure on the City Manager who, after all, is beholden to the Council who appointed and reappointed the Police Chief.
Can one really be surprised upon learning that the total yearly benefit package for the Chief of Police in Santa Monica is close to a half a million dollars a year?
As said: “there’s got to be something wrong with this.”
Michael Risman
Santa Monica
