Gunzburger Gets Union Endorsement
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Another day in southeast Broward’s county commission District 6.
Another union endorsement.
Hold on to your wallets, folks. This fight for endorsements is bound to get expensive.
This time its County Commissioner Sue Gunzburger who is crowing about getting a union endorsement.
Funny. Wasn’t it Gunzburger’s campaign that pooh-pooed such endorsements as meaningless?
Oh, but that was when her opponent, former state Sen. Steve Geller, was rolling them up.
The spin changes depending on who’s getting the endorsement.
Gunzburger was almost orgasmic this week about the endorsement she got from the Broward County Police Benevolent Association.
The PBA represents 2,500 law enforcement and correction officers in Broward, including every police department in the southeast Broward commission district in play.
“As a county commissioner I’ve worked closely with the brave men and women of law enforcement to make our streets and neighborhoods safer, Gunzburger said on Facebook. “That is why I am tremendously proud and honored to have once again earned the endorsement of Broward’s police officers.
Geller is still far ahead in union endorsements in his campaign against Gunzburger for the southeast Broward commission seat.
The endorsement score is 8- 2, in favor of Geller.
Gunzburger probably can’t do anything for the PBA if she gets re-elected. They represent cities and she is a county commissioner.
Her other big endorsement is the hotel workers, which she really can’t help, either. She probably got this one because she backed the county’s living wage law. She didn’t directly help the hotel workers, but showed her support for union issues.
But some of the other union endorsements could hit us in the pocket. Or already did.
Gunzburger charged earlier in the campaign that Geller was getting the endorsement of fire fighters because he voted their way on pension issues in Tallahassee.
I don’t know if that charge is true. However, we all know what these endorsements are all about — giving the unions what they want.
Unions are a special interest. And we know what this union special interest wants — more of our money!
The results of this jockeying over the years for government union endorsements is already felt in our tax bills.
Government has ridiculously expensive pay scales, benefits and pensions that the private sector long ago ditched.
For instance, county commission aides can earn up to $75,000 annually, plus benefits that bring that salary close to $100,000. Aides aren’t represented by a union, but other union contracts with the county government drive their salaries and benefits.
What similar private sectors jobs in Broward pay these salaries and benefits? The answer is almost none.
Here is the truth and why these endorsements are ominous:
Government unions are going to bleed us dry us unless they start taking a more realistic view of today’s economic conditions.
February 10th, 2010 at 7:48 am
I know this is a canned phraze “As a county commissioner I’ve worked closely with the brave men and women of law enforcement to make our streets and neighborhoods safer”
But what does the county commission have to do with law enforcement in Hollywood, Pem Pines, or any of these cities that all have their own police.
February 10th, 2010 at 8:26 am
I agree Buddy, way to go. Why arent you hammering the Sheriff about that in Pompano. That is the real problem and these cities are simply financing these unions – plain n simple
February 10th, 2010 at 8:45 am
The County has nothing to do with fire or police or any other union matter in cities. For those cities to endorse a county commissioner seems a waste of their member’s dues.
What real motives unions have when they endorse candidates, whether those motives imply deals tentatively cut with officials to bend over to union demands, people have to decide that for themselves. To be certain, unions are special interest groups that lobby elected officials very hard. One would hope that they are also deeply vested in the success of the communities in which they operate.
For my part the endorsement of unions has become meaningless. I ignore that entirely and instead look to why someone is running, what they have done in the past, and what they are looking to do in the future.
Those considerations alone lead me to decide which candidate would be best for me, my family and the community. I then vote that way. In my view that is the most proper way to cast a vote.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:09 am
I would guess this hs very little to do with giving/paying to the cops, and hs everything to do with PBA’s current fight with Sheriff Lamberti for trying to break the contract deal he reached with the BSO deputies in 2008. Everyone knows that Lamberti hates Gunzburger for two of budget proposals involving BSO: Having the County take back the jails from BSO and runit themselves, and allowing Hollywood PD and Fort Lauderdale PD to both bid against BSO for providing police services at the port and airport.
Maybe I’m wrong but I think this PBA endorsement of Gunzburger was simply meant as a big F*** You to Lamberti.
February 10th, 2010 at 9:59 am
Judge Hurley has or will have all the endorsments from law enforcement soon as well as AFL-CIO and the Firemen. Most importantly it wont cost the taxpayers a dime.
February 11th, 2010 at 6:32 am
“allowing Hollywood PD and Fort Lauderdale PD to both bid against BSO for providing police services at the port and airport”
I was not aware of this. If she did this (opened it up to bids), it would be a legitimate reason for them to support her. This is actually a good idea.
February 11th, 2010 at 7:20 am
You are reading too much into the endorsements, Buddy.
David Brownnose is Geller’s campaign manager. David Brownnose bought the fire fighters endorsements by hiring a retired union member to work on the campaign.
Gunzburger doesn’t buy her endorsements.
February 12th, 2010 at 8:34 am
[…] Here is an earlier post by me on union endorsements. […]
February 17th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
PBAs endorsement of Gunzburger was made without the knowledge of the BSO PBA members. BSO union reps have threatened that if the PBA does not rescind its endorsement, BSO leaves the PBA.