April 30, 2009

At the last meeting of the LEOFF 1 Coalition, by a 7-1 vote, the Coalition board passed a motion to remove RSPOA president, Jerry Taylor, from the Coalition board of directors. Among other things, Jerry was accused of being “disruptive” and pursuing a “personal agenda.” This, despite the fact Jerry was acting under the full knowledge and direction of the RSPOA board. The RSPOA board is meeting to review the issues and decide on an appropriate response. Soon, we will be publishing a new edition of the Call Box. We will cover the issues in depth in that publication.

Why are we writing now? We anticipate the LEOFF I Coalition will soon issue its 2008-2009 annual featuring a major fund-raising campaign and will include a return payment envelope. We are convinced that the Coalition has no need to raise funds at this time.

DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY TO THE COALITION

The members of the RSPOA are the major contributors to the Coalition. We know you have supported their goals and have been willing to reach for your checkbook to lend support. However, now is not the time to repeat that action.

Facts have recently come to light that suggest the finances of the Coalition may be improperly documented and that the Coalition is entering into contracts and expenditures without the approval of the board of directors. These concerns need investigation, but our requests for the records needed for such an investigation have been denied.

In regard to Jerry’s situation, we are convinced that the Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and state RCW’s prevent the removal of any representative we choose to send to the Coalition. However interesting that legal question might be it does not resolve the issues within the group. Please do not hesitate to contact any board member for more information or to clarify facts.