Art Reddy: A True Union Man

Only a couple of people involved with PPOA go back as far as Art Reddy and myself. I first met him when he congratulated me in December 1992 as I was sworn into the PPOA Board.

I was only the second “nonsworn” person ever to sit on the Board, and I had no idea back then that he and I would have a personal and professional relationship that would last 33 years. Art was the president of PPOA at the time. It was a much smaller organization back then, but a very different dynamic existed, and it was definitely an “old boys club.”

Our executive director at the time, Sharon Lawin, tried hard to manage the rather rowdy group of nearly all men. Art was definitely on the Board for the right reasons — he loved being a member of the Sheriff’s Department, and he loved being on the PPOA Board because he believed in unions and he understood why it was so important to teach our members about why PPOA took positions that many of our members didn’t understand.

A perfect example was PPOA’s relationship with former Governor Jerry Brown. Brown was about as liberal as they come, and that meant he was the exact opposite of the vast majority of our membership. Art made it very clear to me and to the rest of the Board and membership that while our members may be 95% conservative Republicans, the conservative Republicans are not friendly to labor, which means that PPOA mostly supported Democrats back then and to this day.

I doubt many of our members really understand what the Peace Officers Bill of Rights is. POBAR was signed into law by Governor Brown in August 1976 after being opposed by the Republicans in Sacramento for many years. Art was instrumental in getting PPOA to dedicate all its resources into getting this law passed. Prior to POBAR, Sheriff’s Department members were subject to the same laws as the private sector. For example, if one of our folks was involved in a shooting, they would immediately be suspended and ordered to take a polygraph if some less-than-well-meaning supervisors didn’t care for a certain deputy. I urge everyone to Google “POBOR” and realize how important that bill was and how even now, 40-plus years later, it is saving people’s careers and lives.

Art helped create an image of PPOA in Sacramento that still exists today. Together, with his good friend, the late Jim Vogts, and an awesome lobbyist and retired LASD sergeant, the late John Fleming, Art was instrumental in establishing key relationships and a reputation in the State Capitol that has been invaluable to PPOA over the years.

Art continued to guide PPOA decades after his retirement and still attended meetings, sharing his valuable insights up until his sudden passing.

I remember Art once told me that the reason PPOA didn’t get involved in social issues back then, like abortion, the death penalty, the Vietnam War, national politics or school and racial challenges was none of that had anything to do with PPOA, and our members’ job security was our No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reasons for being in existence. I hope we never forget that.

While preparing this article, I Googled “leadership quotes” and came up with one Art would have loved. It was Alexander the Great who said, “I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” Art was indeed a lion, and his 60-plus years of leadership to the LASD and PPOA will never be forgotten.