Police union asks why Cornett skips events FOP supports Ed Shadids campaign By Brian Brus Oklahoma City reporter - Contact: brian.brus@journalrecord Posted: 05:28 PM Friday, October 25, 2013 OKLAHOMA CITY – The race for Oklahoma City mayor heated up this week as the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 123 launched a social media attack against incumbent Mick Cornett. The union picked a fight with the mayor on Twitter, alleging that Cornett doesn’t care about police and fails to show up for award and memorial ceremonies. If you bump into @MickCornett please ask him why he has never once accepted invitations to our award & memorial ceremonies. — OKC FOP (@OKC_FOP) October 19, 2013 The mayor’s office responded that Cornett has attended several functions, although he must sometimes leave early because of other responsibilities. The parties use the Twitter handles @OKC_FOP and @MickCornett. The FOP endorsed Ward 2 councilman and mayoral candidate Ed Shadid in September. Shadid also asked the FOP to help organize neighborhood meetings highlighting the city’s need to hire police officers, which has been a point of contention between the union and City Hall for many years. Local FOP President John George said Friday the union rarely endorses anyone, and this is the most active his group has been in a mayoral campaign. Shadid (@EdShadid) has promised to always provide the union an audience for negotiations if he’s elected, something he alleges Cornett has failed to do. At an FOP presentation in September, the candidate cited a police workforce study from 2009 that he said council members may have ignored to the city’s detriment. In short, the city needs at least 200 more officers and possibly as many as 500 to meet the crime-fighting needs of the city’s population growth, Shadid said. Shadid has also questioned why city leaders failed to address police operations during the MAPS 3 sales tax issue, a $777 million package that included only capital projects such as a downtown streetcar, central park and senior aquatics fitness centers. Public safety represents two-thirds of the city’s budget, public records show, and the average total compensation for a police officer is almost $100,000, including health insurance. The city has been planning to build a new, $27.1 million police headquarters and the use tax portion of MAPS 3 revenues has been earmarked to fund a replacement of the police vehicle fleet. The city needs a long-term, dedicated funding source to bring police numbers up to par with other major metro areas in the country, Shadid told the FOP. When asked to elaborate on the plan he might already have in mind, Shadid said Friday that it would require more review and a council workshop. Cornett has kept a low profile in the months since both men announced their candidacies. He has made few statements directly against Shadid’s positions. Cornett campaign spokeswoman Brenda Jones said Friday she was not familiar with Shadid’s FOP presentation, which was posted online Oct. 15, and she was not prepared to address specific points Shadid raised. The primary election will be March 4.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Oct 2013 16:58:30 +0000
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