Alleged violations scuttle vote on Mesa police union

Nathan Gonzalez - Mar. 2, 2010 03:30 PM
The Arizona Republic .

With allegations of election rules violations, a "disappointed" City Council voided the vote between the city's two feuding police unions and ordered a new election for October.

The outcome of the Feb. 23 election would have determined whether the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 9 or the Mesa Police Association would participate in future "meet and confer" negotiations with department officials.

The FOP had attempted to get its rival dismissed from the ballot after an investigation last month found MPA President Fabian Cota was untruthful during an investigation by the City Manager's Office into his role in a pro-MPA flier courting votes.

The flier was a clear violation of election rules initially sought by MPA, a violation that ultimately nullified the vote, said FOP President Bryan Soller.

"The decision last night wasn't a good one," Soller said Tuesday morning. "We wanted the vote to go through. The true losers are the members of the bargaining unit."

Part of the reason City Attorney's Office pushed to toss the vote was that no sanctions were put in place for such a violation. That's something city leaders said would be spelled out in the next election.

"We thought this was straightforward and shouldn't have to have sanctions spelled out," said Vice Mayor Kyle Jones. "But apparently that's what we are going to have to do in order to keep basically child's play from happening again."

MPA Secretary Kurt Scanio said in a statement that the council's decision "literally has taken democracy from officers."

"It is appalling to see city government
 interpreting and dictating when an election should be voided," Scanio said. "The MPA has followed the rules, guidelines and procedures that have been provided for both organizations."