The Covington Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing police officers in the city, has decided to support the challenger in this year’s mayoral election, and three candidates in the city commission field.
The FOP has chosen to endorse Joe Meyer, the former state senator and state secretary of education and workforce development, in his bid to unseat incumbent Mayor Sherry Carran. Meyer finished first in the four-way primary in May, seven points ahead of Carran, 47 – 40 percent. The two go head-to-head in November.
In the race for city commission, in which four candidates will be elected to 2-year terms, the FOP is backing only three. Incumbent Bill Wells and challengers Michelle Williams, who served on the city commission in 2011 and 2012 before losing reelection, and newcomer Timothy Downing are being supported by the police union.
Union president Bryan Bogard said that FOP members based their support on a need to increase manpower, pay, and benefits in the police department.
“We’re not attracting the candidates,” Bogard told The River City News. He said that there were nearly 500 applications for police testing in 2014 but only 56 this year. “That is a significant decline.
“We are not attracting because we are not as competitive in wages and benefits as other cities, even smaller cities in Northern Kentucky, and in the region we are well below the average and a young officer can go and make $12,000 more a year and have a better benefits package, how can you argue with a guy who has to support a family?”
“We have a high call volume, we are very much in demand and it takes a special officer,” Bogard said. He claimed that for the first time in his memory, officers are leaving Covington for other agencies. “Historically, officers wanted to come to Covington.”
Relations between Covington’s public unions and city administrators have been strained for years, since the city’s financial reached a dangerously low level in 2011 prompting needed concessions from police and firefighters in health care costs. The budget situation has improved, but Bogard said that the department has gone without needed upgrades to its fleet and better incentives to bring in new recruits. “None of these candidates are saying things will jump dramatically overnight,” Bogard said.
“Right now we’re not having good dialogue with the city and that’s not the commission – it’s the city administration,” he said.
City leaders crafted a budget this year that includes more investment in capital funds. “We acknowledge the city is working on it but it’s been a long time coming,” Bogard said.
Bogard said that all the candidates who sought the FOP’s endorsement were well-prepared and knowledgeable. The union declined to endorse incumbent city commissioner Jordan Huizenga, and challengers Stuart Warren and Christi Blair. Challenger John Flesch did not seek the endorsement, Bogard said.
“It is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable our police are driving police cruisers that are almost 10 years old with hundreds of thousands of miles on them,” Downing said in a news release. “My number one priority is keeping residents and our police safe. I look forward to working with every member of the police department in January as a commissioner dedicated to public safety.”
-Michael Monks, editor & publisher
