Anaheim’s Mayor Target of Recall Plan : Election: Police union is unhappy with Tom Daly’s record on law enforcement. He links effort to contract talks.

The Anaheim Police Assn. has voted to start a recall effort against Mayor Tom Daly to show its displeasure with his leadership on law enforcement issues, union officials said Thursday.

“He has shown a total lack of support for public safety in the city of Anaheim,” union President Bruce Bottolfson said. “His focus has been on the (Los Angeles) Rams and construction projects in the city, not the citizens.”

The union is expected to file a recall petition sometime within the next two weeks, Bottolfson said. The recall campaign comes at a time when Daly, who still has two years left on his council term, is gearing up for his mayoral reelection bid.

Daly said Thursday he has heard rumors about the union’s intentions, but was not aware of the reasons behind the recall.

Daly said he thought the recall movement was probably “fallout” from the city’s recently completed salary and benefit negotiations with rank-and-file police officers. The negotiations between the union and city were acrimonious and resulted in several police demonstrations, including a “blue-flu” job action.

“I know the police were hoping for more money, and I’m sympathetic to their desire,” Daly said. “I will not be critical of the police, because I am on their side and I think that many of the officers know that.”

Bottolfson, however, disputed Daly’s assumption.

“As far as we’re concerned, the negotiations are over,” he said. “We’re doing this because we have yet to see any new innovation or commitment to public safety and the cops on the street.”

The union’s political-action committee last week voted 7-0 to pursue the recall. No other vote of the union’s 335 members is expected.

Bottolfson said the union is not only upset with Daly’s actions but is also dismayed by the leadership from the rest of the council.

“We don’t know who the friendly faces are anymore,” Bottolfson said.

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He added that the union plans to play an important role in the upcoming City Council elections in November. The union’s political-action committee dues have been increased from $1 to $10 a month per member.

“We should be building up a pretty nice war chest,” he said, noting that the union currently has about $6,000 in its political-action account.

Late last year, another group called Neighborhoods Opposed to Street Vending in Anaheim had threatened to recall Daly because it, too, was frustrated over crime issues. Nothing, however, became of that recall effort.

At that time, Daly defended his commitment to law enforcement, saying that in the five years since he has been on the council the police budget has grown from $37 million to $51 million.

On Thursday, Daly also said that he believes public safety issues are more important than trying to keep the Rams in Anaheim. He pointed to his action last November when he made a motion, which was unanimously approved by the rest of the council, to expand the Police Department by hiring 50 additional officers. The council, however, did not address how to raise the estimated $4 million needed to hire the new officers.

Bottolfson said Daly has made no effort to fulfill his hiring goal.

“We want him off the council,” he said.

According to City Atty. Jack L. White, the union must notify Daly of the recall and its reason for pursuing it. Daly would then get an opportunity to respond to the union’s charges and have his response included in the recall petition.