I do a lot of hiking and in many cases I am wandering trails alone; with an inseam of 29 inches on a good day; those I hike with take one step to my three. So it does not take long for me to fall behind unless I want to jog. Those of you who know me and see me on a regular basis know that is not going to happen. So I plod along at my own pace and enjoy the solitude. Truth be told I enjoy the solitude; it allows me to think and talk to myself and formulate my many ramblings.
This past week has been filled with much activity. Between retirement announcements; parties; court hearings; Frank White's acquittal; political posturing; promotional announcements; the deaths of Fred McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, it has been a very busy week. Frank White's acquittal started the week off on Monday morning. Daily; announcements trickled out announcing retirements of personnel from almost every area of the department. Some surprise announcements caught a few people off guard, as the numbers continued to rise. At the close of Friday the tally was in the neighborhood of 150 sworn and 30 non-sworn.
Thursday evening was the celebration of Chief Cheryl Meyers' retirement after 31+ years of service to the citizens of San Diego. The poignant tributes paid to Chief Meyers illustrated her place among those who have worked for, around and with her over the years. Those in attendance were spared the presence of the mayor who turned up a "NO SHOW' after making arrangements to appear. It was better he not show his face as this was a celebration for Chief Meyers, who earned and deserved the spotlight and attention on her and her career.
Friday evening had celebrations for Sergeant Tony Johnson, Cold Team Homicide Sergeant; Sergeant Ralph Garcia, Range master; Sergeant Juan Rivera, Eastern Division; and Sergeant Dan Ellison, STAR/PAL. 120 years of combined service leaving to enjoy the next chapter in their lives. Each will be missed greatly by the men and women of the department.
Saturday evening; Sergeant Steve Stone and Detective Victor Morel, Financial Crimes Task Force, held a joint party at the Rock House at the San Diego Police Pistol Range to celebrate their 62 years of combined service to the Citizens of San Diego. Smiles, laughs and lots of great stories were shared as Steve and Vic were honored by those who had the honor and pleasure to work with these two great men. Both will be missed and their experience will be difficult to replace.
Sunday, June 28, 2009, at 3:30 PM, Officer John Russell will celebrate his retirement at the Embers Grill located at 3924 W. Pt. Loma Blvd. If you have some time, stop by and say good bye and good luck to John. John has had a great career and is one of the good guys. His calm, easy going manner did not translate into an officer who just plodded along. John was a hard working, dedicated officer who always worked hard and volunteered to do whatever it took to get the job accomplished. John's enthusiasm and experience will be missed.
As I walked along this morning I wondered where the San Diego Police Department will be in the next 90 days; six months; a year. I wondered about the promotions and transfers to fill the void left by so many retirements. I wondered what is to come from the SDPOA and the City going back to the bargaining table to discuss the mayor's obsession with eliminating DROP and other benefits. I wondered if there was any possibility of a positive outcome from this next step.
My thoughts turned to where I am headed and what should I do for the next three years. Where could I go that would be fun, rewarding and allow me to make a difference? There are so many great jobs that have been created by the exodus of our most senior people; technical positions that require experience in a variety of fields. But what so many forget is the void left in patrol; the leadership and experience that has left and will move inside to investigations and administrative jobs. There are so many options; my mind flittered from one vacant position to another; always coming back to one position. I am also going to be certified for Lieutenant again and like anyone who takes a promotional test, hope to reach that next level in my career. So as you can see my mind was all over the place as I wandered the trails this morning. I was suppose to meet two friends at 0630 hours but did not make it (Sorry Terry and Dick). Sitting with the father-in-law till 3 AM ended any thought I had of getting up at 5:45 to hike at 6:30. I hit the trail at a little after 10:00; alone in my thoughts and wishing I had walked on the treadmill at home after the first 2 miles.
In August we will see the promotion of one Chief; two Captains; six Lieutenants; fifteen Sergeants and a gaggle of Detectives. The promotions will bring more movement and change. Opportunity will present itself for those willing to step forward. Change is there for the taking. When the dust settles we will be a different department. We have an opportunity to help steer the course for the future and put our mark on the San Diego Police Department. Have you thought about what seat on the bus you wish to occupy as we begin to move forward? (No, this is NOT the mayor's train leaving the station) The next 60 days will tells us all what is ahead. Hang in there and be safe.
4 comments:
Well I read in the UT is at it again. Marvel did mention the UT was doing a hit piece on City employee's pay and the first of threee parts was published in Sunday's paper. To sensationalize the story they add a database where anyone can look up the salary of any city employee. Of course they claimed they agonized whether they should publish it.
Sadly, but not unexpected, there are omissions and misleading statements throughout the story that give the reader an inaccurate and skewed view. Especially is the database of salaries where wages, benefit and other compensation are combined. While this is the total cost relative to overall compensation, it DOES NOT REFLECT what people usually consider as salary.
So the relentless attack continues against city workers. I wonder...how will the POA and other labor groups respond?
Read my next Rant; "Union Tribune Spin Job" it is a pathetic example of what lengths they will go to justify their slant of employee pay and benefits being out of line and excessive.
As I sat this morning, drinking my coffee and reading through all the untruthful "stuff" being published to the public, I pondered exactly "what" we could do to counter all this propaganda. Especially since Sparky has challenged us all to join forces and offer our efforts to the POA. Unfortunately, everything I considered seemed trivial and likely to not gain any ground. Isn't there some saying about, "Get a death grip on their b_ _ _s and their hearts will follow?" Even though I don't have any, I feel like a bunch of liars have managed to get a death grip on mine!
I know that Sparky often talks about the evils of the local Republican power brokers, but I am not so sure any of this has anything to do with political affiliation - look at what is happening on the national and state level, with Democrats in full control. No one actually believes the Governator is really a Republican do they? Sorry, got a little off track there - my intent was to point out that we have to find a way to get the "right" audience's attention. The average citizen might "care" when they are reading these untruthful articles, but they don't care enough to take any action other than to think nasty thoughts about city employees. We have to gain the attention and support of those who have the ability to force political change and make politicians nervous.
So, how do we do that? Because I don't really know! Do we get on every Town Council agenda and make presentations? Do we get ourselves invited to the big Social/Fund Raiser events and start telling the truth while sipping champagne; decked out in our tuxes and evening gowns? Because I know that handing out flyers to people shopping in the malls over the weekends is NOT going to get it done - those flyers will be floating around like confetti and never even make it to the trash cans!
Sparky, your blog has probably done more than any other effort, but mostly serves to only support the emotions of those of us who are still vested in "ethics and honor!" Funny how we keep visiting that topic (anyone participate in the latest ethics questionaire) as if they "really" care about honesty and integrity!!!
How about a day without city employees. Ya know, like other days where someone proclaims it No smoking day, or bring you kid to work day. If that's too dramatic or logistically undoable, what about an hour where no city employee answers a phone, provides a service, repairs a pothole, or enforces a law.
It's obvious the Mayor and those who have fallen for his lies need some simple demonstrations about the worth of employee who loyally do their jobs day in and day out.
So what do you think would happen if we has a day, a week, a month without city employees?
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