Report from Bob Walsh

Dec 7th, 2010 | By Bob Walsh | Category: Unions

The main item of interest today was, of course, the election of a state-wide Executive Vice-President. Chuck Alexander, the incumbent, was running against Walter Tucker and Charles Mohammed.

Tucker made a very low-profile approach. He was very up-front with the idea that he was not going to get elected but that he had some real questions for which he and his supporters wanted real answers.

Mohammed made solid responses to the questions, but ended up doing his cause no good (IMHO). At the three-minute closing he stated, “A vote for Chuck Alexander is a vote for cop killers.” He then got up and stormed off the stage. This event triggered, or at least immediately preceded, a vocal demonstration from Phyllis Loya from the floor.

The final vote was (if my tally is not correct, I am certain it is very close) was 374 for Chuck Alexander, 41 for Charles Mohammed and 8 for Walter Tucker. There were 8 abstentions and 4 delegates absent. This breaks down more or less to 86% for Chuck, 10% for Charlie, 2% for Wally, and 2% abstaining or not voting.

The Supervisory V.P. was between the incumbent, Kevin Raymond, and John Lanthripp, who was sort-of running on a ticket with Walter Tucker and is to some extent associated with the dissident movement. They both gave excellent responses to the Q&A. John Lanthripp is willing to work to some extent with CCSO. Kevin Raymond is mostly not. The final vote was (again assuming my chicken scratches are correct) 44 for Raymond and 5 for Lanthripp, with 6 abstaining or not voting.

These numbers show that the dissident group has much less actual backing than I would have thought. Also, as I mentioned previously, Mohammed’s remark about a vote for Alexander supporting cop killers offended many. Also more than a few people were bothered by Ms. Loya’s demonstration, which interfered with the legitimate business of the association. Irrespective of your thoughts about how well (or poorly) CCPOA has dealt with SB 399 and Ms. Loya, her actions were inappropriate. She was eventually escorted out of the room.

This election will certainly NOT put an end to dissension within CCPOA. It does, however, clearly demonstrate that the current administration of CCPOA has the support of the overwhelming body of Unit 6 generally speaking. I am fully confident that, with the new administration, Unit 6 will soon have a reasonable contract and will soon establish a solid working relationship with the Governor’s office. With luck we will have a new administration within CDCr, some of the very worst wardens will be replaced and we can move forward toward solving some of the legitimate and serious problems that face the Department, the Association, and the taxpayers of the formerly great state of California.