Orange County Sheriff Michael Carona and District Attorney Tony Rackauckas could be getting embroiled in another political controversy,this one involving the paycheck protection initiative and the Orange County Fire Authority’s county ballot measure.
In a letter to sheriff deputies union head Wayne Quint, Rackauckas and Carona pledge to work with the deputies and the Orange County Attorney’s Association and to “lead a bipartisan effort to defeat” a county initiative that would transfer some public safety funds from the sheriff and prosecutor’s offices to the fire authority.
The letter raises an issue of concern to public employee union leaders, stating, “If the Paycheck Protection Act passes, it could have the effect of severely defunding (the deputies union’s) political activities.”
The conservative-backed paycheck protection initiative, which appears on the November ballot as Proposition 75, would restrict the ability of unions to use members’ dues to fund political activities.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has not yet endorsed the measure, but he is using that possibility as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the Democrat-controlled state Legislature.
The Carona-Rackauckas letter has OC political circles buzzing, with a long list of comments quickly appearing on the OC Blog Web site, which first reported on it.
Some observers accused Carona and Rackauckas,both Republicans,of capitulating to public-employee unions. But other observers characterized the letter as a craftily worded attempt to secure union support for opposing the fire authority initiative, without explicitly coming out against paycheck protection.
The letter also plays to another concern of sheriff deputies, noting that reports the county’s pension fund might be underfunded “will create inevitable pressure for cutting back current pension rights.”
