Another union passes on mayor

Another public safety organization has come out supporting Costa Mesa City Council candidates Bruce Garlich and Mike Scheafer, but it’s not clear how much clout the endorsement carries.

The Orange County Coalition of Police and Sheriffs, an umbrella group with six member organizations, this week endorsed Garlich and Scheafer. The Costa Mesa police and firefighters associations in September also endorsed those candidates, two of six people running for two open seats on the council.

The police and sheriffs group’s endorsement looks on the surface like another blow to Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor, a sheriff’s deputy who has built his campaign on making the city safer. But coalition chairman Mark Nichols said the group didn’t interview any Costa Mesa council candidates, instead relying on a recommendation from the Costa Mesa Police Officers Assn.

“I don’t know how to weight it. I think it’s important,” Garlich said Thursday. “It’s another indication of the support that I have from the public safety community, and to me that’s the most important issue in this election.”

Mansoor didn’t seem disappointed — or surprised — not to receive the endorsement. He attributed it to union politics.

“I have always been strong on law enforcement, and my track record will show that,” he said.

Mansoor supported Proposition 75, a failed 2005 ballot measure requiring unions to get permission to spend members’ dues on political issues, and he believes unions that opposed the measure are now paying him back for his defection.

Nichols’ group includes the Costa Mesa, Irvine and Santa Ana police associations, the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., and the Assn. of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. Mansoor belongs to the latter group.

It’s not clear whether the sheriff’s deputies association will make an endorsement in the Costa Mesa race. According to several candidate websites, the group has endorsed in several statewide races and at least one city council race, in Santa Ana.

Mansoor said he didn’t know if the association will back candidates in Costa Mesa. Calls to the association were not returned Thursday.

While it’s hard to say how much weight public safety union endorsements carry, they often boost a campaign by spending money on mailers and sending union members out to knock on doors for candidates they support.

Recent campaign finance reports showed Mansoor ahead of Garlich and Scheafer in fundraising by at least $2,500, a gap that may be narrowed by Garlich and Scheafer’s public safety support.

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