Endorsements Come with Hidden Costs
I want a candidate who would represent my values, but must of all I want someone who I can count on once elected. That is what most of us want and it is not much different for an association or a union. Furthermore, the larger the investment in a campaign the higher the expectations of the contributor. So, when someone tells me that a union endorsed a candidate, I know for a fact that not long after that candidate gets elected the union would go in front of him/her and expect favorable terms in their contract negotiations.
Are you telling me that as a candidate you expect those union workers to canvas the streets, to do phone banking, to do public relations, or to do any campaign work on your behalf and later to have you reject their demands for salary increases a few months down the road? Either, you are very naïve if you believe that or you think very poorly of me to tell me that the union would have no effect over your decisions as elected official.For 14 years the firefighters union has followed that same practice yielding them excellent results. The fire department’s cost from 2001 to 2012 increased 330%, yet the city’s population decreased during the same period. All, thanks to their practice of getting their candidates elected.
We are one of the cities with the highest cost for public safety in the County. Almost half the City’s expenditures are devoted to public safety, 33% more than other cities our size, and it appears that if Mrs. Devine is elected she would be obligated to increase those cost even further.
Frank Gallo
Glendale Resident
