PPOA Executive Director
wquint@ppoa.com
I am certainly hopeful that PPOA members in Bargaining Unit (B/U) 612 exercised one of their most powerful union privileges by voting in this year’s PPOA Board elections. The three open Board seats in Unit 612 had seven candidates (six Sergeants/one Lieutenant). One of the very important factors in this election was that PPOA director/president, Lieutenant Nancy Escobedo, did not seek re-election, which will mean that at the December 13 Board of Directors meeting, a sworn member by a majority vote of the Board will be selected as president (PPOA Bylaws, Article V, Section 2: [A]).
So, 2024 will start off for PPOA with a new president, as PPOA says farewell to President Nancy Escobedo, who has served tirelessly, seven days a week, as the leader of our great Association since August 10, 2022. As Nancy leaves the PPOA Board and returns to the Department, I am reminded of the quote, “Our loss is their gain.” I want to express my gratitude to Nancy’s family for the many, many sacrifices they made as Nancy made history at PPOA by becoming its first female and Latina president in our then 72-year history.
The 2024 State Legislature will conclude its two-year legislative session (2023–2024). The governor had until October 14 to act on bills on his desk from the 2023 legislative session. The session began with numerous ambitious legislative proposals in the public safety arena, only to see many of the most significant bills stall or become two-year bills. PPOA’s Sacramento legislative representatives from the governmental relations firm of Lang, Hansen, Giroux & Kidane will be tasked with actively monitoring 13 two-year bills that PPOA opposes: Assembly Bills (AB) 61, 79, 93, 280, 742, 797, 807, 958, 1028 and 1034, and Senate Bills (SB) 50, 94 and 377. PPOA members are encouraged to read about significant legislative bills proposed in the current session, along with PPOA’s positions on them, by going to PPOA.com/members/advocacy.
California’s presidential primary election is on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. In Los Angeles County, elections will also take place on March 5 involving four nonpartisan offices: County Supervisor, Second District (incumbent Holly Mitchell); County Supervisor, Fourth District (incumbent Janice Hahn); County Supervisor, Fifth District (incumbent Kathryn Barger); and County District Attorney (incumbent George Gascón). If the top nonpartisan office candidate receives 50% plus one or more of the votes, the election is won outright on March 5, 2024. If no candidate receives 50% plus one, the top two finishers will move to the November 5, 2024, general election.
On Wednesday, October 18, PPOA partnered with the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS), the Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA), the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) and the Long Beach Police Officers Association (LBPOA) to co-host a District Attorney Candidates Forum and Debate at the Pacific Palms Resort. The primary goal of the Candidates Forum was to help public safety members learn about the views and experience of the nine candidates who are challenging incumbent District Attorney George Gascón, who received an invitation but declined to attend. The event was also livestreamed through a shareable link.
Finally, 2024 will be the last cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) that all PPOA B/Us will receive from their respective 2022–2025 Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs). B/U 612 will receive a 3.25% adjustment on July 1, 2024, and B/Us 614, 621 and 631/632 will receive a 3.25% adjustment on October 1, 2024. Throughout 2024, PPOA will be diligently preparing for upcoming contract negotiations for a successor B/U 612 MOU that expires on January 31, 2025.
Please stay safe this holiday season and celebrate responsibly. For the sixth consecutive holiday season, PPOA is offering its Steer Clear program for full dues-paying PPOA members who use Uber or Lyft between November 23, 2023, and January 1, 2024. Thank you for your support this past year and your continued commitment to ensuring that the PPOA membership prospers in 2024.