Today the San Diego POA announced its support for Nathan Fletcher in the San Diego mayoral contest.
Considering the assumption by many that D.A. Bonnie Dumanis would rake in the bulk of the big law enforcement endorsements, that’s a nugget for Fletcher.
The obvious foremost reason this is a surprise — Fletcher is in disagreement with the POA on a key issue by supporting Comprehensive Pension Reform. That the organization is still backing him shows his candidacy is bigger than one issue. Yes, this is of course a union, but one that comes with some name clout and probable financial backing for Fletcher. Despite it being labor, some organizations and groups still care enough about the future direction of our city to make a tough call, even when faced with a dilemma. Is it also a testament to how quickly Demaio and Filner can alienate people and the uninspiring level of the Dumanis campaign? You be the judge.
This endorsement undercuts a major rationale for Dumanis’ candidacy, since the law enforcement community of which she’s a part now stands with her opponent. It’s evident she decided not to seek the endorsement after it was clear she would be unable to get the POA support, but then asked the organization to stay neutral. Dumanis has accepted the endorsement of smaller law enforcement organizations like the Code Enforcement Officers and her own employees — the District Attorneys Association. But she lost the big ones, SDPOA and PORAC to Fletcher. He can now legitimately lay claim to being law enforcement’s choice.
The support of the law enforcement community is a big deal and seems to add momentum to the Fletcher campaign, especially given he doesn’t have a stellar record with labor. He has an 11 percent pro-labor rating during his time in the Assembly, clearly no tool of organized labor, making the POA support even more significant. SDPOA may be acknowledging the City is ready for change, with insiders saying Fletcher’s willingness to look at both sides of an issue and thoughtfully make a decision helped carry the day.
Demaio will likely try to attack the endorsement. Dumanis will downplay it. Yet, this is a big one.
_______
UPDATE 2:52 pm: At least partially in response to this blog entry, questions were posed on Twitter today about whether Dumanis “asked the organization to stay neutral,” as I wrote above and whether she had ever sought the POA endorsement. The Voice’s Liam Dillon tweeted that the Dumanis campaign at one point stated she “will not be seeking the endorsements of any of the organizations that represent City employees, including public safety,” and further mentioned that POA President Brian Marvel confirmed a neutral position was requested by Dumanis. Former Dumanis Campaign Manager Tommy Mitchell also responded with tweets, saying “During my short lived time on the campaign the endorsement was never on the table,” and “Yes, request for neutrality. Campaign reason was she was prosecuting police, would be conflict of interest.”