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Old 04-08-2009, 07:27 PM
 
Location: West Omaha
1,181 posts, read 4,003,928 times
Reputation: 522

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I generally agree.

Clearly the pension issue is ridiculous. And clearly all the candidates agreed it needed fixed.

The day before the election I had yet to figure out Vokal's stances other than fix the pension mess. And he didn't ever state how he was going to do it.

I just didn't see any reason to vote for him. I had nothing against him per se and I believe he was absolutely unfairly attacked by Police Department concerning the sex offender list - which was completely politically motivated.

But I still don't know what his stances were.

I think both Daub and Suttle are solid candidates and don't have a strong stance either way.
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Old 04-08-2009, 08:39 PM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 23,012,670 times
Reputation: 10356
In the police union's offense, they really had to do something after Vokal went after them in the local media. Had Vokal not pissed them off, they probably wouldn't have attacked him like they did.
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Old 04-08-2009, 11:46 PM
 
Location: West Omaha
1,181 posts, read 4,003,928 times
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That's fine to counter attack but what the police union did was over the top. The whole thing about him not caring about the safety of the Omaha people because he didn't support the Omaha Police's monitoring of the sex offender list is just crazy.

First, it was already being handled by the Sheriff's department and, second, this issue happened several months before the police union brought it up. If they actually cared about the "safety of the public" then they would have cried foul when the issue was at hand not months later.

It was really disgusting. And the bottom line is the police union is NOT beyond criticism. Between the unbelievable pension problem and the statements they made about the sex offender list, I'm pretty much anti-police union right now.

Before anyone blows up at that...that doesn't mean I'm "anti-police." But the union is essentially a political organization and their tactics have so far been pretty unimpressive. I would be saying the exact same thing if any other group did this.
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Old 04-09-2009, 12:51 AM
 
Location: Midtown Omaha
605 posts, read 1,196,276 times
Reputation: 122
Suttle for mayor!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Old 04-09-2009, 12:57 AM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 23,012,670 times
Reputation: 10356
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattpoulsen View Post
That's fine to counter attack but what the police union did was over the top. The whole thing about him not caring about the safety of the Omaha people because he didn't support the Omaha Police's monitoring of the sex offender list is just crazy.

First, it was already being handled by the Sheriff's department and, second, this issue happened several months before the police union brought it up. If they actually cared about the "safety of the public" then they would have cried foul when the issue was at hand not months later.

It was really disgusting. And the bottom line is the police union is NOT beyond criticism. Between the unbelievable pension problem and the statements they made about the sex offender list, I'm pretty much anti-police union right now.

Before anyone blows up at that...that doesn't mean I'm "anti-police." But the union is essentially a political organization and their tactics have so far been pretty unimpressive. I would be saying the exact same thing if any other group did this.
Well I think that's just politics in general. They had some dirt on Vokal and when he started attacking them, they went after him. Can't fault them too much for that.

Can't really hold the pension against them either, because the other side agreed to the contract as well. It isn't the union forced it on them.
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Old 04-09-2009, 12:58 AM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 23,012,670 times
Reputation: 10356
Quote:
Originally Posted by SurfOmaha View Post
Suttle for mayor!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok, why do you want Suttle to win?
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Old 04-09-2009, 09:22 AM
 
Location: West Omaha
1,181 posts, read 4,003,928 times
Reputation: 522
My point is it wasn't actually dirt. They didn't have dirt on him. If the Sheriff's department was covering it then he made the correct decision for the city. Plus they didn't voice an objection when it actually happened. It was one of the worst cases of political "dirtiness" I have ever seen, at least at the local level. They tried turning nothing into dirt. Ultimately, I think it hurt their cause because it was very transparent and very tacky.

As far as the union and pension goes...well...a 40-something police officer retiring with an 80K+ pension is a little absurd. Sure, the contract was signed by both parties. But the contract, I would assume, had a fair dealing provision. Letting police officers load up on overtime at the end of their career in order to spike pension benefits is hardly in good faith. Should the city have foreseen this possibility. Yes, probably. But it doesn't mean the police were right to take advantage of that loop hole.
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Old 04-09-2009, 09:22 AM
 
Location: Omaha
2,716 posts, read 6,884,923 times
Reputation: 1232
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattpoulsen View Post
Between the unbelievable pension problem and the statements they made about the sex offender list, I'm pretty much anti-police union right now.

Before anyone blows up at that...that doesn't mean I'm "anti-police." But the union is essentially a political organization and their tactics have so far been pretty unimpressive. I would be saying the exact same thing if any other group did this.
I'm right with you on that one. In fact, unions in general need some policy overhaul. There needs to be some checks and balances between their power and integrity.
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Old 04-09-2009, 01:51 PM
 
Location: Tampa (by way of Omaha)
14,561 posts, read 23,012,670 times
Reputation: 10356
Well I guess regardless of how you feel about the police unions tactics, I'm glad Vokal is out.
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Old 04-09-2009, 03:40 PM
 
Location: West Omaha
1,181 posts, read 4,003,928 times
Reputation: 522
Agreed.
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