by David Leonhardi
We’ve made it to summer and a few things are looking bright. I’m happy to report the DSA was successful in our efforts during the June primary elections. Most notably, the DSA’s endorsed candidate for Sheriff Kelly Martinez came in 1st place. Dave Myers, a former commander who ran a campaign filled with negativity about our department was eliminated from the race when he finished in 3rd place. Undersheriff Martinez will face republican John Hemmerling in the November general election.
In June, we hosted our DSA dinner dance on the USS Midway. The dinner dance was slightly different this year as we decided not to hire a comedian. Instead, our event included a casino theme, with several craps, blackjack and roulette tables where deputies “gambled” for raffle tickets. We also included a cigar lounge and the always popular photo booth. Many members went home with awesome prizes, and I hope everyone had a great time! Our next member event will be July 1st at the Wave Waterpark in Vista, CA from 4:30 to 8:30 pm. You won’t find a better deal for $2.
The DSA’s negotiations committee met in June and received some training from our attorney Rob Wexler. The committee was created to help ensure different perspectives from all over the department are heard and considered when negotiating our next contract. The negotiations committee will also be working soon to help develop a membership survey in regards to our next contract. We want to know what issues are highest priority for our membership. Our plan is to send out a survey in the next few months. One of our goals for the next contract cycle is to gather more member input and make sure we are updating the membership with as much information as possible. Unfortunately, once negotiations begin (likely the beginning of 2023) details will be confidential, but we also don’t want to leave people in the dark. Many deputies will have to decide in March whether they will stay for a contract, or retire and receive a COLA. We recognize that’s a huge life decision and we will be as transparent as possible when it comes to the status of our discussions with the county.
I will finish my update by addressing the biggest elephant in our department currently, mandatory overtime. At the time of this writing, we do not have an update on the impact our mandatory overtime directive is having. We are scheduled to meet with the department soon to evaluate the effectiveness of the directive. We will continue to advocate for ending mandatory overtime, but one concern is that the directive was not enough. If deputies are finding ways to avoid working overtime and positions are not being filled, the department won’t have many other options at their disposal. I fear we may start to have discussions about re-deployment of deputies in specialized positions. Those discussions have not occurred with the DSA, but I believe it is a possibility. I only mention these possibilities as a reminder that we’re all on the same team and need to take care of each other. The DSA stands ready to assist in any way possible. Please reach out if you have any comments or suggestions. Thank you!