2 LAPD Veterans Hope to Make History in Union Vote

With a pair of near-opposite approaches, two African-American members of the Los Angeles Police Department are attempting to break the color barrier on the board of the union that represents rank-and-file police officers.

Detective Reggie Jackson and Sgt. Robert Smith, longtime LAPD veterans, are vying this week for two spots on the Los Angeles Police Protective League board. Neither has focused his campaign on the issue of race. But in a department where racial concerns continue to divide, both say their presence on the league directorate would enhance the union’s credibility and heal old wounds.

“The league is no different from any other organization,” Smith said. “It’s been slow to change.”

Los Angeles police officers have never elected a black colleague to serve on the league’s seven-member board.

Although both men are regarded as well-qualified officers and potentially strong candidates, department insiders say that neither Smith nor Jackson is considered the front-runner for the two positions.

The election comes at a critical time in the league’s history. Contract talks with the city have been painfully slow, leading union leaders recently to initiate a job action--the first in more than a decade--to build unity among members and to bring pressure on the city.

Most officers appear to support the job action--a slowdown in which officers meticulously follow the department’s work rules--but many have expressed frustration at the slow pace of negotiations. That uncertainty has cast a shadow across the league elections, making the vote a complex mix of racial and contractual issues with uncertain prospects for incumbents and challengers alike.

Smith and Jackson are among several candidates vying for four seats on the board. Incumbents are seeking reelection in two contests, and two other seats are vacant, one because of retirement and one because William C. Violante left to become the city’s deputy mayor for public safety.

“If officers are satisfied with the way the league has stood up for them, you’ll see incumbents reelected,” one observer said. “If not, it’s open season.”

In the race for the sergeant’s seat, most observers agree that Sgt. Pete Lamaestra, an experienced union delegate, and Sgt. Dennis Zine, an outspoken motor sergeant and recent City Council candidate, are the front-runners. Several other sergeants, including Gregory P. Dust, William A. Sheidecker and David E. Brunckhurst, are well regarded and could make the runoff, according to a number of politically active police officers.

Chris Krist, a popular detective and incumbent on the board, is facing a strong challenge from three colleagues. Ken Staggs, the other incumbent facing reelection, also is running against a tough contender, Lt. Richard Violano.

At least some of Smith’s and Jackson’s opponents are sensitive to the long exclusion of blacks from the league board. But they, like Jackson and Smith, argue that the campaign should be run on the issues--from the contract talks to the department’s sinking morale to issues of equipment, work schedules, promotions and disciplinary procedures, among others.

“It’s not a matter of your color or where you’re from,” Zine said. “We all wear the color blue.”