Unions were created to protect workers from oppressive and unlawful practices by employers. I was a POA member for much of my career. But sometimes, under the guise of supporting the worker, the union goes to far. We saw this when the POA fought to get binding arbitration, but the Santa Clara voters were wise enough to see that it was not in the best interest of our city and voted it down. Despite that loss, our police officers are amongst the best cared for in the industry.
In this election we see another example of the union going too far. They have raised over $70,000 from developers and other wealthy opportunists from outside Santa Clara to promote their candidate. Is that the role we want our police officers to play? Previous Chiefs Vasquez, Arolla, Kyle and I all agree with our 24 years experience as Chief of Police, Mike Sellers is the most qualified to continue leading our department.
