OCT 2020 Blues Vol. 36 No. 10

Get out there and VOTE !

Get out there and VOTE ! Get the word one more time: feeling particularly helpful, you Get out there, support our worthy can agree to volunteer on cam- candidates but, by all means, paigns, working phone banks VOTE! and polling locations. I feel like I write this article I think it is of no surprise to every year, and every year it becomes anyone that the most important more and more important race impacting us here locally is that you get out to vote. the race for district attorney. In case you have been living Ogg has been an absolute under a rock, we are living in trainwreck for police officers very tumultuous times, especially and our community. The mur- if you are a police officer. Now der rate in Houston is up over more than ever it is your DUTY as 35 percent and violent crime is a police officer to not only vote, up double digits, driven by the but make sure that you educate sweetheart deals Ogg continues your friends, family, co-workers, to cut for violent repeat offenders. JOE GAMALDI, PRESIDENT HPOU fellow church goers and anyone else you know on the issues If that weren’t bad enough, she the government you deserve.” important to us and who to vote has engaged in malicious prosecution Well, that doesn’t just apply to for. of police officers and will our community, it applies to us. Then you need to follow up continue to do so if reelected. If we don’t put in the work, if with folks to make sure they We at the HPOU have backed a we don’t talk to our friends and vote. You may need to give them wonderful, qualified candidate family about voting and who to a ride, you may need to take for months, one who will return vote for, well then, we get the DA them with you. Be sure to go the the rule of law to Harris County: and the government we deserve. extra mile because every vote Mary Nan Huffman. There are plenty of you who counts in this election. One seat I am encouraging you all to will do absolutely nothing, may lost, flipped, one race won or please assist her campaign in not even vote, but will certainly lost can make all the difference whatever capacity you can. This complain – probably on Facebook in protection of our rights as police can be a donation, volunteering – when the results aren’t officers and whether or not to work polls, working phone what you want. I am asking you we have a DA’s office that continues banks, etc. There is no short- now to commit yourselves to to maliciously prosecute age of ways you can assist. The making a difference and helping police officers. way we win this campaign is by us win this election. It is within By now I am certain you are simply out-working her unqualified our power to effect a change if wondering where you can find opponent and making sure you want to, but if we sit on the a comprehensive list of local enough people in our community sidelines and don’t participate, candidates we have endorsed. know just how bad Ogg has we know exactly what the future You can visit hpou.org and on been. Not just toward police holds for us. our homepage is the list of officers but our community as Please get out there and help. candidates that the HPOU PAC whole. This is not partisan, this is Or, when it’s all said and done has endorsed. You can print out not politics, it is public safety. keep the complaints to yourself… that list and share it with your Thomas Jefferson once said, friends and family. If you are “The government you elect is As always, be safe out there. 70 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 71