Montini: Great news! Arizona Supreme Court says Phoenix cops are NOT crooks
The nice folks at the Goldwater Institute are up in arms today because the Arizona Supreme Court has decided that police officers in Phoenix are not crooks.
In a press release the Goldwater folks say it is a “devastating loss for taxpayers” that the court says contractually negotiated “release time” for union officers is not an illegal “gift.”
“Today the Court missed an enormous opportunity to vindicate one of the greatest principles in the Arizona Constitution—that the government should not spend public money for purely private purposes,” Jon Riches, the Director of National Litigation at the Goldwater Institute, said in a press release.
Except that wasn’t happening.
This wasn't about protecting taxpayers
The case brought by Goldwater was never about protecting taxpayers. It was, and is, about busting a union. In this case, the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.
This must be a tough day for Clint Bolick, who used to direct the litigation department at Goldwater and now is on the Arizona Supreme Court. Bolick was the guy behind the union-busting case in the first place.
(He didn’t participate in the ruling.)
Back when the suit was just beginning to work its way through the courts Bolick said, "Taxpayer money should be used exclusively for public purposes. The practice of shoveling millions of taxpayer dollars into union coffers must be stopped."
It wasn’t shoveling, however. It was negotiating.
The city allowed some Phoenix police officers to be excused from regular duty to work for PLEA. The Goldwater lawyers said that doing so is "authorizing an illegal subsidy to a private company," which would violate the Arizona Constitution's so-called gift clause.
Negotiating time isn't a waste
Bolick said, “At the Goldwater Institute we view gifts of public money to be obnoxious regardless of who the beneficiary is."
But it wasn’t a gift. The deal was part of larger negotiation between the city and PLEA. There is a give and take in all such negotiations. I'd guess that PLEA gave up something to get time for its officers. The organization believes this time is beneficial to its members, and the members agree.
These are difficult enough days for police officers. Having a bunch of high-priced lawyers in a conservative think tank paint them as pickpockets doesn't help.
It’s nice to see the court reaffirming the fact that cops are NOT ripping off taxpayers.
Just the opposite, I’d say.
In negotiations with the city an arrangement was reached allowing some officers involved with PLEA to have paid “release time.”
In return for this you and I and everyone else in the city get a dedicated force of men and women willing to give their lives in our defense.
Pretty good deal if you ask me.