ESCONDIDO: Ugly negotiations prompt controversial police union mailer
Council calls flier intentionally misleading

By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer
Monday, March 16, 2009 8:22 PM PDT


The Escondido police officers union sent a flier featuring this provocative photo to 17,000 residents seeking their help in a dispute with the City Council over compensation cuts.


ESCONDIDO, CALIFORNIA ---- Seeking to gain public support in its fight with the City Council over proposed compensation cuts, the labor union representing Escondido police officers mailed a provocative flier this past weekend claiming that "gang members outnumber police officers by almost 6 to 1."

The glossy four-page mailer, which was sent to 17,000 Escondido homes and paid for by the Escondido Police Officers Association, says recent increases in crime and gang activity make it crucial for residents to protest the proposed compensation cuts at this Wednesday's council meeting, which will begin at 4 p.m. in City Hall, 201 N. Broadway.

On Monday, council members called the mailer a disappointing intimidation tactic and questioned many statistics it cited. They also warned union officials that portraying Escondido as crime-ridden might scare people away from the city, potentially accelerating a recent decline in the local sales tax revenues that help cover police salaries.

In addition, Councilwoman Olga Diaz and Latino activist Bill Flores said the mailer features racist overtones that could alienate the roughly 60,000 Latinos included among Escondido's 143,000 residents.

Union officials defended the mailer, contending that the statistics were carefully gathered and that it is not their job to make the city look good.

"It paints a fair picture of the violence in the city and the fact that it's on the rise," union President Michael Guerrero said Monday.

The trouble between the council and the union stems from the union's rejection of proposed compensation cuts that all other city employees have had to accept this winter. The cuts eliminate 401(k) contributions, end automatic pay increases tied to longevity and wipe out most bonuses for education and training.

Leaders of the police union acknowledge that Escondido is facing sharply declining revenues from the recession, but they contend their willingness to forego pay increases this year should be adequate.

Council members have disagreed and said they plan to invoke their authority to unilaterally impose the compensation cuts Wednesday. They also said it would be untenable to exempt police officers from the compensation cuts that other employees have already accepted.

The mailer, which features photos of bloody fingerprints and several tattoo-covered gang members, paints an unflattering picture of the city. It says Escondido is home to 138 registered sex offenders, 569 prison parolees, 382 documented gang members and 1,000 more gang "associates," who fraternize with gangs but aren't full-fledged members.

It also claims that gang members outnumber officers 6 to 1, but council members called that ratio intentionally misleading. They explained that the city's 382 gang members only outnumber the city's 158 officers by 2.4 to 1, and that the union has added in gang "associates" to achieve the 6-to-1 ratio.

"They know the difference between a gang member and an associate," said Councilwoman Diaz.

Council members also questioned assertions in the mailer that Escondido has the lowest pay of any police department in San Diego County, and that the department has struggled to recruit and retain officers because of inferior compensation.

"This was a tacky effort that makes them look like thugs themselves," said Diaz. "I'm disappointed our police officers would try to intimidate the public for their own financial gain."

Diaz said the union has every right to sway public opinion, but that it should have done so more "tastefully" and with more accurate numbers.

Councilmen Sam Abed and Dick Daniels offered similar sentiments.

"This was a hit piece that features a lot of half-truths and inaccuracies," said Daniels. "Something like this doesn't serve to educate or inform the public. I'm just glad they didn't Photoshop pictures of the five council members on to the bodies of gang members."

Abed said city officials plan to clear up any inaccuracies during this Wednesday's meeting. Mayor Lori Holt Pfeiler said that even an accurate mailer would have been inappropriate because the council hasn't sent out a mailer defending the compensation cuts. Councilwoman Marie Waldron did not return phone calls.

Guerrero, the union president, said city officials left the union no choice.

"City staff is trying to ram this 'takeaway' contract down our throats, so we had to go to the voters," he said.

Diaz and Flores said the flier was racist because the gang members pictured were all minorities and the officers pictured were all white.

"This will make people afraid of young Latino men," said Diaz.

"It's fear-mongering at its worst with racist overtones," said Flores. "Something like this can alienate a huge part of the community."

Guerrero responded that virtually all local gang members are minorities.

Diaz and Flores also complained that gang members pictured in the mailer were from MS-13, a notoriously violent gang based in Los Angeles. Guerrero acknowledged that fact, contending that the use of local gang members would have "emboldened" them.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES