Commentary: Union endorsements are telling in Newport race

When it comes to endorsements, the employee associations usually stay with what they know, instead of what might be.

And they usually will go with the candidates who will best serve their interests.

The Newport Beach Police Management Assn. (sergeants and above) endorsed Mayor Rush Hill in his reelection effort, along with his “team” of candidates, Tim Brown and Mike Toerge.

Considering who Hill, Brown and Toerge are running against, Marshall “Duffy” Duffield, Kevin Muldoon and Scott Peotter, each on a platform of government reform, no one was surprised by this endorsement.

The Newport Beach Fire Assn. followed suit with Brown and Toerge, but surprisingly it chose not to endorse the only incumbent in the race, Hill, saying that neither he nor his opponent, Duffy, had approached them.

Which is odd, considering that Hill had even earned their endorsement in his original 2010 run, with the union spending over $6,000 to support him.

But the big blow to Hill’s campaign is after the rank-and-file Newport Beach Police Assn. endorsed Hill in his original 2010 run, it’s chosen instead to endorse his opponent, Duffy, this time.

As of mid-October, the Police Management Assn. has spent and will raise no money to help its slate of candidates, filing statements of no activity semi-annually since 2005, so the endorsement is only ceremonial.

While the Newport Beach Fire Assn. has already spent more than $6,000 each for Brown and Toerge. The Police Employees Assn. on Oct. 6 spent $3,000 for a mailer supporting Duffy and on Oct. 7, they spent an additional $3,600 for another mailer and a robocall on behalf of Duffy. (Note: Duffy has not taken any money from the association; these expenditures were unsolicited and are independent from Duffy’s campaign).

And considering that they have $94,000 on hand as of Sept. 30, I’d expect many more to come.

It’s one thing for the sitting mayor of Newport Beach to have not gotten the endorsement, which is already pretty intense, but it’s a completely new ballgame when the Police Assn. starts to actively campaign against him.

I mean, we are not in Costa Mesa, after all.

Now Hill

is complaining that the Newport Beach City Council race has turned into a Republican partisan jihad attempt to take over the city, just two months after losing the Republican Party of Orange County endorsement to Duffy.

Had he won both endorsements, he’d proudly support the police officers and his Republican beliefs. Since he lost both, it’s because of his Republican beliefs in a nonpartisan race.

But the Police Assn. has to be careful, considering that if Hill wins reelection, he’ll still get a say when their latest contract expires in 2017.

Newport Beach accountant JACK WU is a columnist for the Orange County Register and a former Daily Pilot columnist.