ABQJOURNAL OPINION/GUEST_COLUMNS: No-Confidence Vote About More Than Cars

Monday, February 28, 2011

No-Confidence Vote About More Than Cars

By Joey Sigala
President, Albuquerque Police Officer's Association
          On Feb. 17 the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Officers' Association voted no confidence in Public Safety Director Darren White.
        More than half of the association's membership voted, and a vast majority, 84 percent of the Albuquerque police rank and file who put their lives on the line every day, voted no confidence in White's leadership. But this isn't a first no-confidence vote for White. As the head of the state Department of Public Safety, he faced a similar vote of no confidence — and lost that vote with 89 percent of the men and women he was charged with leading voting against him.
        This most recent no-confidence vote reflects the growing concerns of the men and women of the association over several issues with White.
        First is his handling of departmental policies. We are fortunate to have a very capable and experienced police chief, Ray Schultz, and he is overshadowed by an individual who is more concerned with media attention and self promotion than the department as a whole.
        Albuquerque Police Officers' Association members are concerned about our citizens' public safety being put at risk with White as Public Safety director. The city administration would have the public believe this vote was only over the take-home car issue or a pay cut. White is, however, guilty of misleading the public as well as the City Council over his handling of the take-home car issue.
        White continuously stated over and over that the cars were taken away as a result of the City Council taking money out of the budget. Council President Don Harris and Councilor Ken Sanchez proved this not to be true and cautioned him about misleading the public and the City Council in the future.
        With regard to contractual issues, White finds it very convenient to say the administration is "merely following the letter of the law" when it benefits it, but there is no reference to the very same contract when the administration is ignoring portions it does not agree with.
        Then we have issues of White's notorious and shameless self promotion.
        In the midst of a citywide budget crisis with the Albuquerque Police Department doing everything it can to save money, White hires a personal secretary for $59,000 a year and T.J. Wilham as public information officer for $75,000 a year with a take-home car provided by the city. These are newly created positions and the salaries are paid out of the Albuquerque Police Department budget, yet they do not work for APD. This is money that could have been spent on equipment, tools or training for the men and women who proudly serve and protect the citizens of this great city.
        In addition, there are serious concerns regarding various allegations filed in federal court related to actions taken by White both as the Bernalillo County sheriff and as Public Safety director for the city of Albuquerque.
        While the local media has focused on pay cuts and take-home cars, the no-confidence vote runs much deeper. It is White's lack of credibility as a top city official and his inability to effectively lead the department that was the motivating factor for the vote.
        Despite the vote of no confidence, the association stands ready and willing to move forward and work with Mayor Richard J. Berry. We will continue to put the public's safety first as we are proud to work for the citizens of Albuquerque. Despite any differences with the city administration and the increase in assaults on police officers, we, the Albuquerque police officers, will never forget our oath to serve the public.
        During his campaign, Berry indicated that the position of Public Safety director was political in nature and unnecessary. As the city faces a $40 million budget deficit, now might be the time to eliminate the position altogether. If not eliminate the position, then the Albuquerque Police Officer's Association is asking the mayor to consider a change of leadership at the position of chief Public Safety officer.

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