The State Worker: CCPOA and its money ... er, your money

The State Worker

Chronicling civil-service life for California state workers

December 12, 2008

CCPOA and its money ... er, your money

Bee Cap Alert colleague Shane Goldmacher reports in this front-page piece today that former state Sen. Don Perata (legally) transferred $1.5 million from a fund to fight Prop 11 to an account set up to pay legal costs he's incurring to fight a federal corruption investigation.

Here's the part of the story that we wanted to bring to your attention:

"Anytime you donate to an independent expenditure campaign, you recognize that it's independent and we have belief in the leadership of Senator Perata," said Lance Corcoran, a spokesman for the state's correctional officers union, which was Perata's biggest ballot committee donor, giving $602,000 in 2008.

We're reminded of this biblical principle from Mark 2.27: ""The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."

A variation applies here, we think: "Union funds were made for members, not members for union funding."

Perhaps you disagree. Or maybe you want to argue that this is an example of members best served by CCPOA flexing its financial muscle at the Capitol.

What do you think: Whose interest was best served here? Union members? Perata? Union leadership? The public?

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