Conflict alleged in police, firefighters support

June Casagrande

Several Greenlight candidates are alleging that campaign

literature touting the police and firefighters union’s support of

some candidates is a conflict of interest, particularly because two

of those candidates are council members who vote on union salaries.

A campaign mailer sent out in recent weeks includes portions of a

letter from the Newport Beach Public Safety Assn. endorsing

incumbents Tod Ridgeway, Gary Adams and council hopefuls Don Webb and

Bernie Svalstad. The mailer was paid for by the campaigns of those

candidates.

Greenlight candidates Madelene Arakelian and Rick Taylor have said

this relationship is inappropriate at best.

“Part of your cozy arrangement with [campaign consultant Dave]

Ellis is using the police and fire department unions to send out

mailers under their name but paid for by you and your slate of

candidates. Ethics in politics is in question,” Arakelian told

council members at their meeting last Tuesday.

Those endorsed by the unions called the charges “mudslinging.”

“Not only is nothing wrong being done here, but I’m proud of my

endorsements by our public safety personnel,” said Adams, who

described the Greenlight candidates’ comments as campaign

mudslinging. “There is no correlation between people being endorsed

by those groups and any favoritism. We’ve done what’s fair and right

and what we need to do to keep the best police and fire personnel in

the county, and I think that’s what the people of this city want.”

Ridgeway echoed this sentiment.

“I see no conflict at all,” he said.

City Clerk Lavonne Harkless said that the mailers do not violate

any campaign rules, in part because the police and firefighters union

conducts political activities through several political action

committees.

But the Greenlight candidates say that at the very least the

relationship between the union and the incumbents creates the

appearance of a conflict of interest: Council members vote on union

salaries, the union leaders then endorse the candidates, and, in

turn, their signed endorsement is made part of a brochure paid for by

the candidates.

“It raises an important question,” Taylor said in a statement. “If

any of these men were elected, how would they vote when faced with

sensitive personnel issues such as salary negotiations or personnel

cutbacks for either firefighters or police?”

Nine of the 11 candidates for City Council sought the union’s

endorsement, said Rich Thomas, president of the Newport Beach

Firefighters Assn. Taylor and Allan Beek were the only two who did

not interview for the endorsement.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.