On  Wednesday,  December  10, 2014, the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) board members and officers met at CSLEA Headquarters in Sacramento to conduct elections, discuss and receive updates on issues impacting CSLEA, CSLEA affiliates and CSLEA membership,  and to discuss member concerns with California Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez.

“I thank Assemblymember Rodriguez for taking time out of his busy day to attend our board meeting and  meet our directors, ” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.  “To this day, he works as an emergency medical technician, his son is a deputy sheriff in Los Angeles County and he is passionate about those who devote their careers to public safety and consumer protection.  We were  able to relay to him the concerns our members have about their salaries, the ongoing threats to their pensions and healthcare.”

In addition to Assemblymember Rodriguez’s visit, the CSLEA Board of Directors re-elected  Alan Barcelona as CSLEA president.    Barcelona thanked the board for its unanimous support.  “There is a tremendous amount of work to do over the next four years and I’m happy to do it.  It is getting harder and harder for the working class to get by today and I’m going to do everything I can to change that.”

Association of Motor Vehicle Investigator (AMVIC) President Kenny Ehrman was re-elected as CSLEA Unit-A vice president;  CHP Public Safety Dispatchers Association (CHP-PSDA) President Tina Brazil was re-elected as CSLEA Unit-B vice president and CSLEA senior vice president;  and Association of Motor Carrier Operation Specialists (AMCOS) President Terry Beatty  was elected as CSLEA Unit-C  vice president.

Other items discussed at the quarterly meeting:

• CSLEA Chief Financial Officer Ricardo Sanchez updated the board on CSLEA’s financial status.
• CSLEA Legislative Consultant Craig Brown and Legislative Advocates Amy Brown and Shane LaVigne spoke to the board about legislation, pensions, and CSLEA’s presence at the State Capitol.
• CSLEA Chief Counsel Kasey Clark updated directors on the financial soundness of the  Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the status of current LDF cases as well as grievances authorized for arbitration by the CSLEA Legal Representation Committee.
• CSLEA Member Services Supervising Field Representative Richard Carrillo presented the board with membership data and the effort to visit members at their worksites.
• CSLEA Communications Director Teri Cox updated the board on website improvements, emails sent to membership, and CSLEA facebook and twitter accounts.  She presented an end of the year video and a video featuring CSLEA members who work at the Department of Justice Crime Lab in Ripon.