NEWS > 01 March 2006

Article sourced from

Hartford Courant - United Stat
01 March 2006

This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.

Rift Seen In State Police Vote

The election of a new state police union president is being challenged by the runner-up, who is questioning the results and integrity of the close race.

Det. Steven Rief, a 17-year veteran, beat his closest opponent, Trooper Andrew Matthews, by six votes. Three other troopers also ran for the position, which represents the troopers and sets the tone for their relationship with management.

On Tuesday, Matthews held a petition drive at the state police training academy in Meriden to ask that the entire membership be allowed to decide whether there should be a new election or a recount. He collected 103 of the 225 signatures needed to convene a special meeting of the entire membership, which could ask for another vote.

Matthews said that because Rief received only 266 votes of the more than 800 votes cast, most troopers voted for change. Rief had the support of the outgoing union president.

"The truth lies at union headquarters, where the ballots are being preserved," Matthews said. "It's not about me. It's about fairness and democracy."

Rief said the position of union president requires a strong leader who can articulate the issues.

"I have those qualities," he said. "I saw an opportunity and I didn't see others who could lead our union in the direction we need to go in."

At issue in the election is not so much Rief's victory, but about nine ballots that Matthews said should have been counted but were not, because they came after the deadline. Matthews also contends the union counted other votes that should not have been counted.

Trooper Jeffrey Covello, who came in third, said there should be a revote involving the top three candidates. "Two-thirds of the membership voted for change," he said, adding that Rief would be status quo.

Outgoing union President David LeBlanc denied that there was any impropriety in the election, calling the claims "a total distortion of the facts." He said Rief is the best candidate for the job, and that he won the position fairly. Rief is scheduled to take over the job July 1.

LeBlanc said Matthews was allowed to contest the election before the union's 30-member executive board, and that the board unanimously approved Rief's victory.

"It was a close election," said LeBlanc, who wrote a scathing letter to the membership about Matthews' claims. "It's over. Too bad people can't shake hands and move forward."

The dispute, an unusual rift in the usually solid union, has pitted trooper against trooper and even provoked some screaming matches. It comes at a rocky time, as even the distressed upper management recently voted to unionize its captains and lieutenants.

"Our union is already fragmented," Matthews said. "I think people want change across this agency."

Who will be best suited to serve the department's future depends on which side you ask.

While many say Rief's spotless image is better to represent the 1,121 members of the union, others say Matthews would more aggressively confront the administration on the many issues facing the department.

"I don't think [Rief would] be a solid strong or vocal union president with the issues on the table now," said Sgt. Theresa Freeman, a supporter of Matthews.

Rief, 39, a decorated major crime squad investigator, cuts a traditional figure of a state trooper, with a square jaw and a buzz cut. He has been active in the union and has LeBlanc's unwavering support.

Matthews, 35, who is studying to be a lawyer, is one of the complainants who sparked an outside inquiry of the state police internal affairs division - an inquiry being handled by the New York State Police. Matthews said he intends to sue the department because he has been harassed by management, and he has filed a complaint with the attorney general's office about the internal affairs unit.

Rief, who has never had any disciplinary issues, has worked under the leadership of LeBlanc, who has been president for nearly four years and is retiring.

Slow to publicly attack the administration, LeBlanc has stood up for the issues he and other union leaders considered important, such as staffing. He and his union staff finally got administrators to agree to add a trooper at the busy Hartford barracks and to add a third dispatcher at Troop E in Montville, which has become busier because of the state's two casinos.

"You can't come into this position with a personal agenda," LeBlanc said. "You have to come to this position knowing you will be representing 1,121 people."

Rief said he plans to have a professional relationship with the administration of state police Commissioner Leonard C. Boyle, but said he will continue to hold it accountable.

"We have to work within the system we are under," Rief said. "The only way we are going to resolve some of the issues is to work with them. I'm looking to the future."

EiP Comments:

* We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper or periodical. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and we will remove the article. The articles republished on this site are provided for the purposes of research , private study, criticism , review, and the reporting of current events' We have no wish to infringe the copyright of any newspaper , periodical or other works. If you feel that we have done so then please contact us with the details and where necessary we will remove the work concerned.

Other related articles:

Article sourced from

Hartford Courant - United Stat01 March 2006

Rift Seen In State Police Vote

EiP Comments:

Hartford Courant - United Stat
01 March 2006