{news} Andy Derr endorsed by police union but refuses PAC $$

[David Bedell]

http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=5886EC80-0FC8-4948-AA1A-56E812B076C0

New London Day

Longtime New London Police Detective Spurned By Police Political Action 
Committee
Gaynor not endorsed in bid for re-election

By TED MANN
Day Staff Writer, Politics/Government
Published on 10/6/2005

New London — When the call came, City Councilor Gerard Gaynor Jr. couldn't 
believe it.

The New London Police Union's political action committee, which voted 
Tuesday night on its endorsements for the upcoming council election, 
declined to endorse Gaynor, a retired detective who spent 36 years at the 
department.

The union endorsed every member of the current council except for Gaynor and 
Councilor Beth Sabilia, instead throwing its weight behind Democratic 
candidate Kevin Cavanagh and Green Party member Andy Derr.

For Gaynor, the union decision was a particularly bitter blow, and a sign 
that resentment lingers after his opposition to an ultimately successful 
expansion of the union's bargaining unit to include the department's three 
captains.

“First and foremost, it was a very difficult decision for the union 
political action committee to make,” Lt. Chip Segar, the union president, 
said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “On a personal level, it's 
heartbreaking to me.”

But, Segar said, Gaynor made two “fatal errors” in recent months — opposing 
the captains' move to join the union and offering to sacrifice one of the 
unfilled police positions in the budget in order to preserve the city's 
social-services department.

“Even if, in the grand scheme of things, that might have been the right 
thing to do, that did not sit well with us,” Segar said of the latter 
suggestion.

Gaynor said Wednesday that he was flabbergasted when first informed of the 
union's decision, but added he was confident that he still had support among 
the rank-and-file in the department.

“My initial reaction to that was disbelief,” Gaynor said.

And he continued to defend his decision to oppose adding captains to the 
union.

“In a police organization, you have to have a separation between the troops 
and the administration, and as far as I'm concerned they're administrators,” 
Gaynor said. He later added, “I don't think you can be loyal to two gods, so 
to speak.”

The union declined to endorse Sabilia because she did not return a 
questionnaire sent to all council candidates, Segar said, and the councilor 
said she had a good reason not to: She is not seeking any endorsements.

“I'm not seeking endorsements, I'm not doing fund-raising, simply because 
I'm running a fairly low-key campaign in light of my personal situation,” 
said Sabilia, who is due to give birth next week to her second child. “And I 
figured people, after four years on the council, would know my record.”

The incumbents endorsed by the union were: Mayor Jane Glover, Deputy Mayor 
Bill Morse, Councilor Margaret “Peg” Curtin, Councilor Rob Pero and 
Councilor Jason Catala. Catala and Pero are Republicans; the rest are 
Democrats.

Segar said the union's interviewing committee was grateful to Morse, Pero 
and Catala for voting to allow the captains to join the union, and was 
impressed by Morse, Glover and Derr, who all advocated a switch to a “strong 
mayor” form of government.

New London needs “a central figure in the city who would be accountable and 
responsible to the voters,” he said.

Segar said the committee believed Cavanagh, a member of the Board of 
Education, would bring “great new ideas” to the council, and said the 
endorsement of Derr would help “bring balance back to the City Council 
that's desperately needed.”

It was a pleasant surprise and a cause for optimism for the third-party 
candidate.

“I think it's just another indication that people are really taking the 
Green Party seriously, and we're part of the political scene in the city,” 
Derr said.

He also noted that both Derr and Morse had declined financial contributions 
from the union PAC. In lieu of financial assistance, the committee will 
donate a total of $100 to the New London Meal Center in their names.

© The Day Publishing Co., 2005