Greetings Fellow Members!

This is my first newsletter to you as your new President of the New Mexico State Police Association.  Although I am the new President, I am not new to the Executive Board or as an active member of our Association.  I was actively involved as a District Representative for 6 years, then as Vice-President for the past 6 years.  I take this time to thank you for the support you have given me over the years and to assure you that I am committed to represent your voices collectively wherever the opportunity may arise and everywhere it should be heard as well.  I have some big shoes to fill from past President, Norman Rhoades.  Norman worked extremely hard for you all for the last 6 years and also before that as the Editor of the Roadrunner.  Please thank him and salute him for all his work in preserving the traditions of State Police. Regardless of what some may think, Norman did an outstanding job as President.  He sacrificed his own upward mobility to serve the troops in the field.  If I were the Chief, I would present Norman with a Medal for Exemplary Performance at the next Awards Ceremony.  As the new President, it is my desire to broaden the lines of communication with the members and use this message as a call to regroup.  I would like to see us use the Association as an avenue to bring our members and their families closer together.  We all have something in common that binds us with one another and it is up to each of us to preserve that bond.  One of my priorities as President; is to actively pursue better pay and benefits for our members.  It has been close to 4 years since we had a considerable raise and even longer than that for civilian members.  We need to aggressively pursue this issue once again and bring our pay to the top of the charts among the state’s law enforcement community.  I would like to work on internal surveys of our department in an effort to increase workforce satisfaction.  An organization that is truly committed to its employees should genuinely be concerned with what they think.  Organizations can preach all they want about how valuable their employees are to them, but if their actions prove otherwise, the employees easily perceive the deception.   That is one of the primary causes of job dissatisfaction and low morale.  The key to success in any organization is the people from the bottom all the way up to the top.  Everyone has to feel some type of ownership and feel appreciated.  This makes them want to work, vs. having to work.  Many organizations no longer reward longevity in the workplace.  Loyalty is becoming a term of the past because organizations show no loyalty to employees, only to a select few.  We have to insist on equality and fairness for everyone.  We should support having a list of sanctions delineated to ensure equal dispensation of discipline for all.  We should never have one person serving several days of suspension while another only receives a letter of reprimand for committing the same policy violation.  We should work on issues such as paid compensation for all leave upon retirement instead of permitting sick leave abuse by some and cracking the whip on others.  Just eliminate the problem by paying 1 for 1 on all leave accrued/earned.  What is the big deal here?  It is a much wiser decision vs. what has been the practice for years.  It is just downright absurd to not buy the employee out who is obviously ready to leave, and replace them with someone fresh.  How foolish is it to pay an employee to stay home on sick leave and keep a position tied up, creating more stress and work for others, when everyone knows they are simply using the sick leave they have earned so as not to give the department anything back.  (You can’t blame the employee for that)  How equally foolish is it to let some get away with it and try to discipline another for attempting the same thing.  Is the math just too fuzzy or what?  It is a simple solution that requires budgeting.  After all, they are being paid 1 for 1 to stay home on leave all the same.  Those are just a few but not the only issues we need to pursue.  I will address more in future newsletters.  

Over the years I have heard complaints by some members who say they never hear what the Association is doing or that the Association does not do anything for them.  As the past Vice-President I take partial responsibility for the poor communication.  The Executive Board has never been one to brag about our efforts or accomplishments, but it is your right as members to be informed.  Many of you have asked me over the years about Association concerns and have kept yourselves informed; however some of you have remained uninformed.  You can blame it on District Reps or the Board if you want, but we all play a part in getting the word out.  It has always been my belief, that those who want to stay involved and informed do so, and those who do not, have made that choice as well.  We have held regular meetings and notices have always been sent out to District Representatives.  Those Districts that have not kept in touch have poor representation and seriously need to elect a new Representative and Alternate.  Those districts that have been uninformed should know by now who you are and that there is a problem with your representation.  You should hold elections ASAP.  Those of you in the uninformed districts should step up and volunteer or submit your name and show an interest in becoming a rep.  Get involved!  Don’t leave it up to someone else to deal with.  I will be contacting each District to boost our membership and representation.  I would like to see us once again have Representatives in Criminal and Narcotics and perhaps some of the larger sub-Districts as well.  Communication is something we all need to work on.  Part of our communication problem has also been due to not having a Roadrunner Magazine since I don’t know when.  We had some problems with the last publisher not being proficient enough to keep our mailing list straight.  We made a business decision to keep the magazine business in our own state and retain a local company to publish the magazine.  We took a chance on a smaller start-up company that displayed great potential and insisted they could handle the job.  They strung us along for some time, eventually went “belly-up” and left us hanging without a magazine.  That scenario seems to be happening more and more in the business world nowadays.  Even well established billion dollar companies are failing and leaving everyone in limbo.  We are intent on having a new magazine out soon.  While we are on that topic, we really need worthy news items such as:  District articles, stats, and photographs depicting your work.  This is your magazine and it should contain items you submit, showcasing all the good work that you do.  It is an avenue of communication to show other members across the state who you are and in turn, learn who they are.  We welcome and encourage family submissions and news items as well.  Please contribute to make the Roadrunner a magazine you are proud to be a part of, otherwise you have no standing to criticize it for lack of content.

This is our present situation; extremely low morale in which many officers and civilians just work their 8 hours per day and want absolutely nothing to do with the department or even law enforcement on their time off.  It has become just another job to some, no longer a way of life as it once was.  Why?  What is happening to State Police?  What do the recruiting commercials say?  Pride, Honor, Tradition?  What is happening to it?  Recruits are being promised certain things like competitive pay and step raises then they don’t see it.  That has an effect over the years.  If the Department is advertising and making certain promises to lure applicants then they should at least ask the legislature to fund the step increases and lobby for raises.  They should stand up to the Governor’s no growth objective and voice their concerns. Officers feel that State Police is being sold out to politics and favoritism.  When the voices of our majority speak regarding laterals and merging of divisions and it still appears that the administration’s priority is to accommodate the smallest division of DPS regardless of what it’s largest division wants, is it any wonder why State Police employees feel this way?   What about our civilians?  Many civilian employees dedicate 25 + years of their lives to State Police and top out at a meager $9 to $13 per hour.  Stop ignoring the low morale and pay of the civilian employee’s and make this a new priority.  If we have to re-classify everyone to upgrade them then let’s start.  Our civilian employees are so tired of hearing that everyone’s hands are tied; yet they see favoritism and disparity in upgrading of positions in other divisions.  We cannot continue to ignore the State Police civilian support staff and expect the department to run without some kind of break down.  We have been having mini explosions, but this is a ticking time bomb that is about to blow.  Why is no one stepping up to help the civilian staff?  Are they not important enough for someone in power to stick their neck out for?  Are they not politically connected enough to return a favor?  It is said; the true test of a man’s character is when he helps those who can do nothing for him.  What a great Department we would be if everyone behaved this way.  In reality what we see is a plethora of sycophants jockeying for a position and others afraid to speak up for fear of losing theirs.  We cannot allow State Police to become ghosts of the highway.

Recently our Association has been under attack from Cabinet Secretary English.  In his recent District meetings, it became evident that his main agenda was to bash the Association Executive Board and attempt to splinter the membership.  One of his claims is that the Executive Board has not been representing the members but only representing a handful of people.  This cannot be further from the truth.  We fight for what the majority wants.   Those of you that have been on the department for several years should recall the ballots that were sent out asking the members to vote concerning the merge / lateral entry of SID into State Police.  The results of that vote were an overwhelming majority against the lateral of SID.  We provided the Chief's office with the results of that vote, the Chief’s office then sent out ballots of their own and received similar results.  I advised Secretary English at our July 9^th District meeting of the majority consensus concerning the lateral issue and advised him that it was the Administration’s action to ignore the majority vote of State Police members.  His response was that they did not ignore anything, but this is not a democratic department.  He emphasized that he was the one in charge.

  The State Police Association majority has strongly opposed this lateral merge; therefore we on the Executive Board have consistently represented your voice in the legislature and court.  We on the Executive Board put our heads on the chopping block and stand as a voice for you; whereas one of the Administration’s top priorities has been to continue to try to accomplish this lateral merge anyway they can, regardless of the decaying morale it has caused State Police Officers.  Now you can all decide for yourselves. Who has been representing your votes and your voice and who ignores it?  Why do they continue to make this lateral such a priority when there are far greater issues facing our department?  They continually say they are under political pressure to get it done one way or another.  Political pressure by whom?  They never mention anyone specifically.  Well, it’s the legislature they say.  Who specifically is driving this?  We have been hearing this for a few years already but none of the powerhouses in the House or Senate have introduced this legislation and in fact, some have helped to defeat it.  Therefore we are only left to reason that the continued impetus comes from within our own administration.  Now here we find ourselves at yet another administrative attempt to lateral SID and now MTD and any other NM police officer dissatisfied with their department, into our sacred State Police. They have tried to open side doors and back doors to accomplish this goal.  Not only is the bar being lowered, it is being dropped all the way to the floor to allow some to step right over it.  What a demeaning slap in the face to dedicated State Police Officers who have sacrificed all to earn the right to wear the Black and Gray.  If this policy were to pass, a 2 year rookie would be put in a position to train an individual from SID or MTD who had at least 5 years with that division, who would then be allowed to come across with their seniority, wear the gold and be eligible to test for promotion ahead of the true State Police Officer.  Where is the wisdom and common sense in that line of thinking?  They think morale is low now!  I can’t bear to think of what it will become.  I have nothing against MTD or SID, and I have friends in each of these divisions, but they are in those positions by choice and we are State Police Officers by choice.  Our administration tells us that the personnel in SID and MTD do not want to be State Police Officers.  What then is the purpose to continue on this crash course that is bringing the morale of State Police Officers to an all time low? Now even MTD is under attack because they expressed opposition to the lateral.  (Woe to anyone who stands up to express honest opinions, concern and, God forbid, opposition to the powers that be)  You will find yourself in deep doo doo faster than you can say,  “transfer or stripped of any authority”.  What a lonely feeling when everyone turns their back on you and you are banished.  You all need to ask,  who stands to benefit from this lateral and merge of divisions?  State Police?  The public?  How??  Will the Black and Gray one day be so easily attainable?  It is my firm belief that we should only have one way to become a State Police Officer, and that is to survive the selection process and all other requirements, survive the State Police Academy and graduate as State Police Officers have done proudly for years.  That is the blueprint for building a State Police Officer.  An officer cannot simply be given our badge after completing the back door school, and just instantly be a State Police Officer without having all the internal foundation and framework of a State Police Officer.  A New Mexico State Police Officer is made like a fine sword, forged out of the fires and molten metals and pounded into shape, then ultimately polished to a brilliant luster.  Our Academy teaches a philosophy and camaraderie that you cannot learn elsewhere.  The bond, confidence and survival skills gained there are unequaled.  This is one of the reasons why our State Police Division’s internal disciplinary problems are miniscule when compared to other agencies in the state and the nation.  Although a very insignificant fraction of bad apples survive our academy and graduate, our State Police Academy still puts out a great product for the most part.  We should never sacrifice quality for quantity because it will always come around to bite us in the end.

Now once again you all are being given an opportunity to voice your concerns regarding these proposed policies.  I know some of you have been so disgusted that you have already thrown them away.  It is important for you all to respond to these policies.  You need to be open and honest about your opinions.  Ask the important questions.  Where is the money for training, medicals, uniforms, and salaries etc. going to come from?  If there is money available to institute this lateral, why have we not had our step increases?  How is the department going to handle the litigation that will undoubtedly follow such a merge?  Will State Police be offered exempt ranks as well or is this favoritism reserved only for certain members of SID and MTD?

Another claim presented by Secretary English, is that our Association discriminates because we do not allow other divisions of DPS to become members.  For one, this Association was formed in 1985 as the New Mexico State Police Association, prior to the creation of DPS.  It was formed by and for State Police Officers and State Police employees.  The obvious reason they want other divisions to be allowed membership is to create dissention and dilute your votes and your voice.  Some people cannot stand the fact that the Association exists and stands up for the membership.  Some will do everything in their power to destroy our Association from any direction.  For this reason we must remain organized and united to withstand such attacks. 

Secretary English also states in his District meetings that the Association does not help all State Police Officers.  I’m sure he is referring to Officer Keith Hanker who was seriously injured in an accident while on duty.  Well sadly, Officer Hanker was not a member of the Association when he was involved in this tragic accident, therefore the Association could not offer monetary assistance due to the current by-laws.  We have faced much administrative heat and scrutiny over this issue.  Let me clarify it now.  I personally gave Officer Hanker along with everyone in his recruit class, an application to join the Association and informed them about the emergency medical assistance for members and their families.  I advised them about previous situations where the Association was not able to assist non-members involved in accidents.  Officer Hanker, for whatever the reasons, did not join the Association.  The Association would really like to help everyone in times of need, but if we were to do that, what then would be the incentive to be a dues paying member?  Does anyone know an insurance company that will pay your medical bills or fix your wrecked car if you are not paying insurance premiums?  I am not aware of any, but if you do, give me the number so I can switch today.  Frankly it just does not happen.  Assisting non-members would only create further liability because other non-members would attempt to sue to receive the Associations assistance.  I for one as well as many others I know have always reached out to personally help others that are non-members. Whether by purchasing or selling benefit raffles or donating leave, we can help others, Association members or not.  I applaud the Administration and others for their efforts with the F.E.A.T program (Family Employee Assistance Team).  Some of you may not have heard about the F.E.A.T program.  It was created to provide emergency assistance to those in need who were basically not members of our Association.  I understand that they will assist any employee in need.  The department recently discovered that this program cannot exist and operate in state government without establishing by-laws and an Executive Board to manage the funds donated.  They have asked our Association to adopt F.E.A.T as an Associate program so it does not fail.  This is a topic that we will discuss at a future general meeting and one that also requires a vote from the membership.  I wish the program success.  There are some truly caring volunteers involved in F.E.A.T. 

OK, let’s move onto the issue of the Association’s involvement in fundraising/telemarketing.  Yes, for several years we have been under contract with Civic Development Group (CDG) to raise funds for the State Police Association.  Why?  Well cops for one are not very adept in asking anyone for help or money.  So does it not make sense to have professionals do it instead?  We saw the National Troopers Coalition’s assets plummet because they would not change the way in which they did business.  Their Executive Board failed to treat the management of the NTC like a business.  They were spending more than they were bringing in which eventually resulted in many heated arguments and major splits by states in the East and West. This split may never be repaired because of their failure to agree on the direction of the NTC.  We as the Executive Board are elected by you to manage the business of the Association.  It is also our duty to keep the organization fiscally sound and to be responsible for the accounts of donations and the dues collected.  Fundraising for important causes is not begging by any means, regardless of what others may think.  No organization can function without money.  Giving money to a worthwhile organization and cause is something people are willing to do; but most people will not give unless someone asks them to give.  A successful and responsible organization finds ways to generate money and build up reserves to handle emergencies, opportunities and unforeseen expenses.  Even if we raised membership dues we would not be able to provide the amount of assistance to our members and their families, to the public and to the Department if it were not for our fundraising efforts.  We usually don’t publicize all the assistance we provide to our members, for that reason some people think that we have not done very much for the members.  For the sake of those who don’t know and to remind others who may have forgotten, here is a small list of assistance and donations the Association has provided over the last few years.

·         Agent Dennis Cordova  (now retired) family re: assistance with son’s medical expenses.

·         Officer Ed Garcia; assistance in medical expenses.

·         Sergeant Andy Montoya family; wife in serious accident.

·         Families of officers:  Lloyd Aragon, Damon Talbot, Eddie Espinoza, Mike French, Darrell Jaramillo, Mike Hill; funeral expenses.

·         Families of officers:  Lloyd Aragon, Damon Talbot and Ramon Solis and 3 escort SP Officers to attend the National Memorial services in Washington, DC.

·         Officer Jennifer Schurman; expenses to attend the National Memorial services in Washington, DC because she was a survivor and so closely related during the deaths of her classmates.  We did this to aid in her recovery from such a devastating experience.

·         Assistance to family of Officer Henry Vega; during hospital stay

·         Agent Tom Green; legal fees on frivolous charges by State Official

·         Officer Rolando Flores; assistance in medical expenses.

·         Officer Rosa Siquieros; assistance in medical expenses.

·         Gina Carrillo; assistance in medical expenses.

·         Carla & Chuck Bittinger; assistance in medical expenses.

·         Jerry Hoover; assistance with funeral expenses when his wife passed away.

·         Domestic Violence Shelters throughout the state; annual donations of $10,000.

·         NMSP Association children; eleven (11) $750.00 academic scholarships, per semester.

·         Historically we have always given an award of $200.00 to the Best All Around Recruits of each graduating class.

·         The Association also assisted the Department with the following: $8,000.00 for advertisements in state wide newspapers to promote the Bond C election (which would have given the state millions of dollars to replace antiquated radio equipment, which ultimately is an officer safety issue), we paid for refreshments and floral arrangements for the Department’s Annual Awards Ceremonies, and some recent building dedications (because it promotes our members and the memory of our fallen officers.)

Back to the issue of Telemarketing.  The State Police Association Executive Board takes great precautions to ensure that CDG and their employees handle our telemarketing campaign with the utmost professionalism.  If you hear about a complaint from someone that has supposedly received a call from telemarketers who claim to represent our Association, please obtain the reporting party’s name, phone number, date and time of call and details leading to the complaint.  Please contact me or another Board member and we will immediately follow up on the complaint.  CDG records every call to ensure accountability and quality control.  95% of the complaints we receive range from; the private citizen receiving the call  actually initiating the rudeness instead of the caller, the complainant totally getting the facts wrong or lying about the specifics or we find that it was simply not CDG that made the call.  We have had reports in the past of other associations using the name of State Police in their script or claiming that their funds help purchase vests for our officers as well.  Rarely have the telemarketers been found to have committed the acts alleged.  If CDG finds that their caller misrepresented the Association or acted inappropriately, they are relieved of their job.  We have sent the information re: CDG in the past to all districts and it has appeared in previous newsletters plus the Road Runner. Here it is again.  The firm that handles our telemarketing is Civic Development Group-Residential Appeal LLC.  They are a professional telemarketing firm based out of New Jersey.  Their confirmation number is 1-800-933-2680.

Along the same lines, telemarketing has given us the flexibility to pay for a lobbyist and attorney to assist in our struggle for pay, benefits, traditions and our basic right to exist. Yes, right to exist.  We have the freedom to assemble and associate and the department cannot infringe on that right.  To quote from the book,  The Rights of Law Enforcement Officers, by Will Aitchison, “The freedom of association prohibits an employer from deliberately attempting to destroy an Association of Law Enforcement Officers for the purpose of preventing the exercise of First Amendment Rights”.  The Association exists as a voice for you.  So don’t be fooled into believing that you do not need anyone to speak on your behalf.  How many of you feel comfortable going all the way up the chain of command to have a word or express your opinions to the Chief or Secretary?  How far up the chain do you really think you will get?  Collectively we have a much greater voice.  Many spiders united can tie down a lion but one alone is obviously no match.   

We are not a recognized collective bargaining unit and we are not a union but we do have a voice at the legislature and amongst other political entities.  Many are interested in what the Association has to say.  They not only seek but they respect our opinions.  The department recognizes this and does not delight in that fact.  They do not want us to be involved in politics and they argue that we should not be involved in lobbying.  Interesting though that they frequently utilize our lobbyist when it is convenient for them.  They believe we do not have the right to lobby and would like to stop us anyway they can.  They have been investigating whether we are violating any laws, policies or codes of conduct.  Perhaps some feel we should have stuck to simply being a coffee mugs and Teddy Bears organization or social club.  Private foundations are not permitted to lobby, but charities, social advocacy groups, trade associations and professional societies are.  We as the New Mexico State Police Association work in partnership with government and we serve as advocates for a constituency.  We hold a legitimate interest in the formation of public policy and this is a valuable and important service that we can provide.  Lobbying is very important for us and we intend to continue to be a voice for our members and to assist legislators and the public in understanding our needs and concerns.  Congress showed its support for lobbying when it enacted the 1976 Lobby Law.  The IRS also issued new regulations in 1990 that supported the spirit and intent of the Lobby Law.  The law and regulations provide leeway for lobbying by organizations such as ours.   

                Secretary English claims that he has tried to work with the Association and that we have refused to work with him.  He mentions that he “received a nasty letter” from our attorney wherein he claims we showed resistance to meet with him.  That letter from our Association attorney was in response to an intimidating letter I received from Secretary English stating he will be looking into whether or not we are violating the code of conduct.  I have not received a target letter yet… but the initial tone he set can only be construed as an attempt to be threatening and intimidating, thus prompting a response from our attorney.  He later sends the Executive Board a letter re: meeting within 10 days; however within those 10 days he begins his District meetings/Association bashing campaign before even giving us a chance to respond. This move obviously fails to show even a slight glimmer of a good faith relationship in working with the Association.  When I was present at the District 7 meeting, I spoke in defense of the Executive Board and the Association.  I requested to read the above-mentioned letters to all the troops in the room but Secretary English vehemently denied my request.  We have provided you with the letters in question due to many requests for them.  Since that time we have not had a meeting with Secretary English.  This newsletter will undoubtedly get to his desk and serve as our continued stance for the voice of our majority.  We are steadfast in our position that we are not in violation as implied and we are willing to meet and confer on important issues.  We feel we have always stepped up to the plate and assisted the Chief with many requests for assistance, even while facing constant criticism and heat.  

As some of you know by now, I was recently transferred to Espanola after serving almost 6 years at Headquarters.  I still remain committed to doing my best for the troops, the civilians and the citizens of this state wherever I work.  I don’t have to be at Headquarters to find out what is going on.  There are still many who hold the traditions of State Police sacred in their hearts that will get the word out to the streets.

The Association is your organization.  The Secretary is right about one thing; you should all become involved in the Association.  We ALL seriously need to be involved in the fight to preserve State Police TRADITIONS, PRIDE, INTEGRITY and HONOR. The Association IS a democratic form of government and your concerns have always been and will continue to be represented.  I welcome your ideas and comments.  You may reach me at home, (505) 455-7337 or contact me via our website, nmstatepoliceassoc.org

Sincerely,

Rick Anglada

President NMSPA