Good grief, what hell do we have to be living in for the stars align to make that happen? Two extremely unlikely events converge in the Mayor vs Police Union spat.
I HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE MAYOR
MPPOA No Confidence Vote
It’s old news by now, but yesterday the police union put out a political hit on the mayor – MPPOA NC Vote. No doubt in support of the recall efforts. Here’s what their statement said:
Madison Professional Police Officers’ Association
Vote of No Confidence in Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway
An overwhelming majority of the membership of the Madison Professional Police Officers’ Association (MPPOA) has approved a declaration of no confidence in the leadership of Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway. This was a resolute vote, with over 95% of the Association’s voting membership returning a vote of “no confidence.”
The MPPOA did not make this decision easily or in haste. Instead, our vote of no confidence is the culmination of many months of frustration in the absence of effective leadership from the Mayor. On March 25, 2019 we proudly announced our endorsement of Satya Rhodes-Conway for Mayor after she committed herself to developing a strong partnership with our labor organization. After several meetings and ongoing communication with the then mayoral candidate, it was our belief that Satya Rhodes-Conway could bring people together and lead Madison into the future. We hoped to work in concert with Mayor Rhodes-Conway to reduce disparities in our community and prioritize the safety of Madison’s residents and visitors. At that time, the Mayor stated, “A safe city is the underpinning of a place where everyone has the chance to pursue opportunity and thrive.” It has become clear that Mayor Rhodes-Conway misled us when she was running for office. Collectively, we are uncertain of her ability to move us forward for the betterment of our police department and our city.
During her mayoral candidacy Rhodes-Conway stated that she looked forward to cooperation with our membership; working together when we faced challenges and celebrating our accomplishments as our employer. Throughout the Mayor’s tenure, she has demonstrated an unfamiliarity with her police department. She has been quick to point out, sometimes inaccurately, where we fall short, while the successes achieved daily by members of our organization go unrecognized. This unhealthy portrayal of the Madison Police Department perpetuates an “us versus them” dichotomy in our community. It is particularly dangerous at a time when city agencies and entities should be working collaboratively to address an increase in burglaries, car thefts, weapons offenses (including shots being fired daily all over the city) and, sadly, attempted and completed homicides too often claiming the lives of young Madisonians. We would never ask the Mayor to ignore our inadequacies. In fact, we call for a leader who is committed to rolling up her sleeves, diving in, and working with us on systematic improvements rather than separating herself from us and further dividing our community.
Mayoral candidate Rhodes-Conway expressed a commitment to worker’s rights and collective bargaining. We looked forward to an ongoing dialogue between our labor organization, the Mayor’s office, and interested community stakeholders. Instead we must pursue the Mayor for communication opportunities. Those discussions devolve into her desires for potential furloughs, the re-opening of settled contracts, and other budgetary matters at the expense of collaborating on strategies to ensure a safe Madison for everyone.
Because of these issues, the MPPOA issued an open letter to the Mayor and asked for a conference to discuss moving forward. During this meeting, we asked Mayor Rhodes-Conway to facilitate and foster opportunities for our organization to meet with community groups and members who are open to constructive dialogue toward social justice and positive change. Rather than stepping up to this leadership responsibility, the Mayor told us she “struggles” with that role and asked us, instead, to use our own voice, effectively declining our request for community engagement. Only after this conference did the MPPOA Board decide to conduct a vote of no confidence. The decision to take the vote is not merely a reflection of her failure to support the Madison Police Department. It is reflective of her failure to lead the city.
The Madison Professional Police Officers’ Association remains dedicated to the safety and well-being of everyone who lives, works in, and visits Madison. We recognize that we can enhance our already high quality of service through continuous improvement efforts. We are a national leader in law enforcement and we are motivated to work together with community stakeholders who are open to honest, constructive, and collaborative conversations that lead to systemic improvements for the betterment of everyone in the Madison community.
Mayor Rhodes-Conway did offer us one piece of sound advice: We will do a better job of using our voices to highlight the work our members do day in and out as law enforcement professionals, advocates, and allies. We will foster a better relationship between police and public, with the hope of knowing one another better. We will not stand for false narratives that only serve to divide us. We are here to serve Madison, and we will continue to do so to the best of our abilities.
Release: 07-27-20
MPPOA Board of Directors
Konkel Agrees with MPPOA?
I have no confidence in this mayor. I had serious concerns about Satya running for mayor based on what I knew from serving on the City Council and Progressive Dane Steering Committee – which she abandoned when it suited her political ambitions and went over the the Democratic Party.
My concerns have only grown worse – at least when she was on the Common Council she was a champion of public input, asking the administration tough questions and collaborating with others. Now, Mayor I-Me-My-Mine is in it for one person and one person only – herself. She doesn’t give a damn about public input, working with the council or anyone for that matter. She clearly knows best and will tell everyone else why her way is the only way. I’m a bit stunned by the degree of which this has happened, and I can see there is no turning back. Her disdain for the council on which she once served and the disregard for the public process is the ultimate stab in the back to democracy.
To list specific incidents all you have to do is read my blog since she was elected:
- Stopping committees from meeting during the pandemic and continuing to control when they can meet through administrative roadblocks
- Not issuing a press release on her initial 23 orders to support the business community when she has press releases and blog posts every day on various issues and failing to prioritize residents of the city over businesses.
- The blatant power grab with the executive orders that weren’t necessary.
- Private meetings that should have been publicly noticed- What was that secret meeting about? and Not Publicly Noticed?
- Trying to rush the police chief hire.
- Covering up the staff exodus from her office until it couldn’t be hidden any more.
- Claiming Bus Rapid Transit and Affordable Housing as equal priorities while spending $130M on Bus Rapid Transit and $1M (1/130th of the amount) on affordable housing.
- The wheel tax proposal that had no public discussion
- “The party is over” Soglinesque attitude towards homeless persons
- Botching the response to Black Lives Matter Protests and enacting curfews to create the dynamics for the teargassing and pepperspraying of peaceful protesters
- Disparaging remarks about protesters in private video to the police
- Dividing the peaceful protesters from the “violent” protesters and being tone deaf in encouraging covering up “graffiti” with “art”
- Moving “Forward” with the Chamber of Commerce on re-opening when the science she claimed to be following did not support it. And now look where we are.
- Taking forever to get the men’s shelter up and running after the pandemic and lack of planning for what happens when Warner Park Community Center reopens and the county stops funding hotels.
- Her bullshit comments about being disappointed in the Progressive Dane Caucus when she was a member of it for 6 – 8 years and KNOWS FULL WELL WE DO NOT VIOLATE OPEN MEETINGS LAWS.
- In September I asked if you were Feeling Duped by the Mayor? and its only gotten worse.
I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point. And I’ve probably missed several other issues in that long list. So, its no wonder I can’t help but side with MPPOA when they call the mayor out for:
- Not being an effective leader
- She can’t bring people together
- She misled people with her campaign promises and continued rhetoric
There are other parts of the letter not highlighted here that I don’t agree with as much. And I have no doubt that the MPPOA probably didn’t act in good faith in the meeting they describe when she didn’t cave in to their bullying. I fully realize this is probably a political stunt on their part to bargain for something that they want, but I do agree with their “no confidence” vote.
But who is the MPPOA – and why are they so secretive about their membership?
I’ve written about this before, but the MPPOA needs to be more transparent. They need to:
- Open up their website for all to see.
- Allow Public Safety Review Committee members to see the website
- Have a public listing of their Board members
POLICE UNION HAS TO WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE
After all of that, I AGREE WITH THE MAYOR on her statement. Reform is going to happen, they can lead or they can follow or wait to have it be done to them. It’s their choice. The statement from Mayor I-Me-My-Mine has the usual condescending, ivory tower tone, but if you can get past that, I agree that:
- The police department has to lead the way in oversight and accountability.
- Embrace change, help us reimagine policing – what are they doing that could be better done by others? Police don’t need to be social workers, mental health workers and more. What can be done by others instead of an armed officer.
- Support changes they know need to happen.
- We need to re-open the police and fire contracts to balance our budgets.
HONESTLY . . .
How’d this happen? I probably won’t agree with either group on very much in the future, but today, I agree with them both.
