Atwater police program van, cadets used in city election campaign

A committee supporting three political candidates in the contentious Atwater City Council and mayor’s races used a police program van and police cadets to distribute fliers promoting the trio – without the authorization or knowledge of the city’s police chief, the Merced Sun-Star has learned.

City Manager and Police Chief Frank Pietro told the Sun-Star he was both shocked and “livid” when he learned of the incident last weekend, immediately putting a stop to it.

But the damage from using police resources for political purposes is already done, said one ethics expert. And it’s not the first time the same committee used city facilities and taxpayer resources, such as the police, to further its political agenda.

The fallout from the incident resulted in one longtime police volunteer – the driver of the van handing out the fliers – losing his job. Others worry the situation might jeopardize the nonprofit status of the department’s Police Activities League, which oversees the cadets and owns the vehicle.

The fliers supported two council candidates – James Vineyard and Bill Barkman – as well as Mayor Joan Faul, who is seeking re-election in November. They were paid for by the Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability Committee, the same group whose treasurer requested financial contributions be dropped off at the Police Department in May.

Chief Pietro said he received text messages from two current Atwater City Council members on Saturday about the police program van and cadets being used to pass out political fliers.

“I was extremely upset and livid when I heard that,” Pietro said. “I called officer (Robert) Vargas (executive director of PAL) and asked what is going on. He called me back and said one of the advisers came in, got the key and took the PAL van without authorization.”

Pietro said the driver of the van and PAL volunteer for nearly eight years Jeff Connell is no longer with the program. Some say Connell was given direction from someone else to take the van out and was not acting on his own.

Connell could not be reached for comment.

Pietro said it’s unknown who could have given Connell permission to use the van. Pietro questioned Vargas and the police dispatcher on duty, who both denied knowledge of the incident. “Those would be the only two people to have authority to allow someone to take the van,” Pietro said.

Vargas declined comment Friday, saying the city attorney instructed him not to discuss the incident.

Councilman Larry Bergman, one of the two elected officials who contacted Pietro about the issue, said he’s heard contradicting reports about what prompted Connell to use the van. “I heard the adviser did it on his own, and I was also told others directed them to do it,” Bergman said.

Bergman said he was contacted Saturday by residents who saw the van and cadets handing out fliers.

“I was astonished it was taking place. It took me by quite a surprise,” Bergman told the Sun-Star. “They are a nonprofit, and they are not to be involved in political issues like that. And it gives the public the perception that the city is supporting certain candidates.”

Confusion over cadets

Vineyard has continuously touted his experience as a police volunteer and neighborhood watch program coordinator. He outlined in an email last month his plan to use the Atwater Police Officer’s Association and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection cadets to walk precincts for him.

“We need the flyers out in the next three weeks if possible or before Oct 6th when the absentee ballots come out,” Vineyard wrote in the Sept. 11 email obtained by the Sun-Star. “I’m looking at our group doing 6 of the 12 precincts unless you think we can do more and the APOA/CAL Fire/Cadets, candidate Barkman doing the rest.”

Vineyard did not return calls for comment. 

Though Barkman was named in the email, he denied knowledge that police cadets were used to pass out political pamphlets supporting himself and Vineyard. “I suspected that they might be using cadets, but I had no direct knowledge of it,” Barkman said.

Barkman said the police van should not have been used on Saturday, but blamed the adviser (Connell) for not following directions apparently given by the committee’s treasurer, Bob Calaway.

“What I’ve been told from Bob is that he instructed the people who were there that it was voluntary and to not use uniforms or PAL equipment,” Barkman said.

Pietro said he told officers that police cadets better not wear uniforms or badges if they are used in politics. The cadets are 13- to 17-year-olds who want to learn “what it takes to be a police officer and how to serve the community,” according to Atwater’s website.

“The cadets can help the (political) committee as long as they do it on their time off and without their uniforms,” Pietro said.

It’s unclear if the cadets wore uniforms during the campaign runs. But with or without their uniforms, one longtime Atwater resident said it’s “unethical” to use cadets for political purposes. She spoke out about it during a recent City Council meeting.

“The APOA can endorse whoever they chose, but to send out the cadets – that’s not right,” said Judy Bowling. “This is a political arena. The flier was for three people, not all six candidates.”

Police ‘should be neutral’

A political ethics expert said using Police Department resources in a political campaign is an example of influence peddling.

“They are using their public office to publicize or favor certain political candidates over others,” said April Hejka-Ekins, professor emeritus in the political science and public administration department of California State University, Stanislaus. “Therefore they are not maintaining a neutral, unbiased stand . Something like the Police Department should be neutral in the election.”

Utilizing police cadets is a misuse of their role, she added, because they are there to train to be police officers, not to participate in a political campaign.

This type of conduct could also lead to cronyism, Hejka-Ekins said, with elected officials and the Police Department exchanging favors.

It also could present a disadvantage to the other City Council and mayor candidates.

Atwater mayoral candidate Jim Price called the situation “unfortunate and inappropriate.”

“I find it really inappropriate if it’s a city-owned vehicle, which I believe it is,” he said. “Who authorized that use? That’s the key thing. Someone didn’t go on their own and do it.”

City Council hopeful Brian Raymond said he wants to focus on running a “clean, fair” campaign, but still finds the incident troubling.

“I don’t know if their intent was malicious or not, but it does paint a bad picture for the general public,” Raymond told the Sun-Star. “ While I was happy the chief stopped it, the damage was already done.”

Mayor Faul agreed that distributing political fliers – some of which supported her – from a PAL van was not appropriate, but said the issue was quickly resolved. “That should not have happened, but it did,” the mayor said. “When it was found out by the chief, he immediately took action.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Atwater police program van, cadets used in city election campaign."