Vote rebukes Billdt
Thanks to a loyal reader who tipped us off tonight, I have confirmed that more than 95 percent of the San Bernardino Police Department's civilian employees have delivered a "no confidence" vote in Police Chief Michael Billdt.
The vote, from about 120 non-sworn employees, follows a 76 percent "no confidence" vote from the police union earlier this month.
How this will play out is tough to say. Not exactly sure how much weight this has with Mayor Pat Morris or the City Council.
It does seem to disprove - if it still needed to be disproved - the theory that the backlash against Billdt is the product of a few police union malcontents, an explanation Morris and Billdt-supporters have continued to voice as the crisis has deepened.
“Quitting while you’re ahead is not the same as quitting.”
Anonymous, that's kinda cryptic.
I happened to make it to the council meeting last night. I wouldnt call it packed, but there was a good number of general unit and poa members who were present to support the call for the return of the general unit positions that were traded away for a new captain.
At least, thats how it appears.
5 positions will be returned and that is good news. (But I think the captain's slot is still up for consideration, down the road sometime). That particular item appears to have been "accidentally" dropped from the agenda.
I also heard of the "phone poll" conducted by the SBPEA over the weekend, that concluded with a 96 or 97% "no confidence" vote, for Chief M. Billdt.
I congratulate General Unit President Yandel on both the return of the employees and the guts to stand up there and report the poll results, which mirrors the vote of "no confidence" earned by Billdt, by members of the POA.
What do these votes mean for the police department and the citizens of San Bernardino? What do the votes mean TO the Mayor and City Council?
Mayor Morris offered another clue as to how he intends to deal with the above votes. Instead of calling for "public comments" earlier in the evening, and knowing that the gallery was filled with supporters of both unions, he droned on through the agenda, item after item, while more union supporters happened to show up, until there were no more distractions to offer.
He finally allowed the public comments to proceed and allowed several speakers to make their comments, saving the poa president for 3rd from the last and the general unit president until dead last.
He could have handled it differently, but chose try waiting it out, maybe hoping that the supporters might disappear one by one.
I'm wondering if the mayor has a clue as to how deep the rift at the department really is.
I'm glad to see that someone else has noticed how Morris shuffles the deck when dealing the Public Comment slips. I have had the honor of being picked last to speak more than once - I guess he didn't want everyone else to hear what I had to say 'cause he knew I wasn't leaving early....he may not like what I say but he's gotta sit there and pretend to listen.