On October 23, 2013, the Governor’s office announced the appointment of associate corporations investigator Christopher Lewis as assistant deputy director of enforcement for the California State Lottery Security and Enforcement Division.  Lewis is also president of Peace Officers of California (POC),  the organization behind the failed attempts to sever Unit 7 and decertify CSLEA as exclusive bargaining representative. POC is also the entity which  filed and then withdrew an initiative to repeal collective bargaining for State employees. 

Given Lewis’ lack of supervisory/managerial experience, having never worked for the Lottery and having never served as an armed peace officer, it is a disservice to the Unit 7 peace officers over whom he will now have oversight.

The appointment announcement lists Lewis’ employment history as follows:

• 1991-94 – probation assistant for the Sacramento County Probation Department
• 1994-95 –  clerk for Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office
• 1995 – police cadet for Los Angeles Police Department
• 1996-97 – legal correspondence specialist for Franklin Templeton Investments
• 1997-98 – public defender investigator for Sacramento County Public Defender’s Office
• 1999-2007 – non-sworn investigator for Department of Insurance
• 2007-2013 – associate corporations investigator for Department of Corporations 

Lewis apparently never graduated from the LA police academy to become a fully sworn peace officer. Further, he has never served as an armed peace officer.  During his eight years of employment as an investigator for the Department of Insurance, Lewis did not make a single arrest; during his first two years with the Department of  Corporations he made one.  Lewis has also never served as a supervisor or manager of other law enforcement employees. 

This is an insult to the Unit 7 agents who work for the Lottery who have routinely performed the full array of duties of peace officers, including detention, service of warrants and arrest, to be managed by one who has no such experience.  In fact, there are a number of Unit 7 peace officers who are existing Lottery employees who would have been deserving of promotion from within.

To his credit, Lewis has depleted every ounce of the limited political capital that POC may have generated by pushing for an appointment to manager while leaving his former rank and file counterparts at POC in the dust of the failed severance attempt.  Kudos to Lewis for working the system to his personal advantage!