Bill Cotterell: When the PBA talks, candidates listen

Have you ever voted for or against a candidate simply because somebody else said you should?

How about if lots of your friends and co-workers, people with whom you share business and personal interests, say they're going to vote for someone or against some ballot initiative? What if it's not even a group you belong to, but some people whose work you admire?

If you don't know much about the candidates or don't feel strongly on an issue, the advice of organized schoolteachers, economic-development folks, environmentalists or a professional association can convey a sense of confidence.

That's what meets the eye in the Florida Police Benevolent Association's endorsement of Gov. Charlie Crist for the U.S. Senate. There's more to it than the appearance that cops, probation officers and prison security staff support Crist — so he must be tough on law and order — although that's the message Crist and the PBA conveyed last week.

John Rivera, the state PBA president, was not immodest when he said the police and prison officers have the most sought-after endorsement in state politics. The PBA has a pretty good batting average in statewide, legislative and local races (like it or not, ask County Commissioner Akin Akinyemi or ex-Commissioner Ed DePuy).

What good are public-employee endorsements? In this era of angry voters holding Capitol "tea parties" and 11-percent unemployment among taxpayers, being the candidate of government employment might not be the image you want.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has shown some bipartisanship in recent political backing. AFSCME endorsed Republican Tom Lee for chief financial officer three years ago (didn't work) and successfully supported state Sen. Charlie Dean, R-Inverness, for the Florida Senate.

Dean would have fought privatization of Northeast Florida State Hospital anyway, since it's a big employer in his district. But for AFSCME, it was much better to have a Republican friend in the Senate than someone the union had opposed.

That privatization push is likely to be back next year, incidentally, among many ideas for paring the state payroll. Crist vetoed an employee pay cut this year but, with challenger Marco Rubio narrowing the gap in polls, will he again defend government jobs and salaries?

Nothing personal, as Sal Tessio said in "The Godfather," whacking you is business — not many state employees vote Republican. Conversely, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek's Senate campaign got the nod from the AFL-CIO, in which AFSCME is a big part.

So Crist will have more to worry about from his right than from his employees in the coming legislative session.

Invariably, candidates endorsed by the PBA, AFSCME, AFL-CIO and other unions tout it as proof of their kinship to working men and women of Florida. Those not endorsed say the favored candidate is a pawn of big labor, no matter how hard they sought the endorsement themselves.

A great side-effect of the PBA endorsement is the appearance of officers in TV ads, often in nondescript uniforms without city or county patches visible. We once had a secretary of state who posed beside a squad car, deep in conversation with big cops, as blue lights flashed and yellow crime-scene tape fluttered in the breeze. The voice-over touted her legislative record on crime, as if to imply she had some tough friends to help her keep the Great Seal safe.

More important, in all the employee organizations, is money and legwork. The PBA expects to spend about $1 million, through roughly two-dozen political action committees at every level, during this election cycle. The union even has its own printing press, for quick production of mass mailings, and sets up phone banks, provides campaign consultants and does neighborhood canvassing for selected candidates.

Needing a friend

With the state facing budget cuts of another billion dollars, or so, and no election-year tax increases possible, the PBA needs a friend with the veto pen next year. State troopers and other police units, as well as correctional officers, have fared better than most employees in pay raises and job cuts over the past few years — thanks mainly to the PBA's influence with legislators.

After the PBA endorsement, Crist went to Jacksonville last week for an appearance with the Fraternal Order of Police. That one got called off because of pressing law-enforcement business, but it's clear that one way Crist wants to offset Rubio's challenge on his right is to remind us of the "chain gang Charlie" sobriquet he picked up in the Legislature.

Rubio, incidentally, announced his own endorsement by Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., last week. That hardly offsets a Florida PBA or FOP endorsement, but it's part of the important national credibility Rubio's candidacy has acquired.

Crist's chief of staff is leaving next week to run the campaign, another sign that Rubio has the governor's attention. When asked how he'll cope with the end of federal stimulus dollars and slumping tax collections, Crist's consistent answer is "reduce government."All of which does not augur well for the government workforce in the coming session.

· Contact Senior Political Writer Bill Cotterell at (850) 671-6545 or at bcotterell@tallahassee.com.