Police union left in turmoil after board vote

Keith Paul

Monday, May 8, 2000 | 11:40 a.m.

A power struggle inside a local police union left the president with his job, but the drama continued as he fired two union officials, prompting several board members to resign.

The vote taken Thursday also has led about 100 rank-and-file members to quit the union or say they plan to quit, several union members said. In addition, a few officers have said they want to inquire how to decertify the Las Vegas Police Protective Association.

The schism began April 20, when the board voted 9-5 to begin the process of removing union President Andy Anderson. But Thursday, with more of the 22-member union board in attendance, the vote was 11-8 to keep Anderson in his current position.

Anderson's next move was to remove union Vice President Dan Holley and board member Toby Maldonado -- both who were appointed by Anderson.

Four board members -- William Chavera, Tim Crump, Russell Wood and John Yacek -- resigned after Anderson announced the firings, Maldonado said.

Another board member who was out of town at the time of the vote, Dave Moody, has indicated that he also will resign, Maldonado said.

Anderson defended his decision to remove the two from appointed positions on the board of the 2,200-member union.

"You want the kind of guys that are going to help you in what you are trying to do, and I didn't think these guys were helping," Anderson said.

Maldonado, a patrol sergeant, said he was the one who first made the motion to remove Anderson. He did so, he said, because of concerns he and others had over the union's $17 million-a-year self-insured health plan that covers about 8,000 employees, retirees and dependants.

Maldonado said there is a problem with the health insurance and Anderson is the one who decided which management company to use and should be held accountable.

Maldonado said a recent report on the insurance shows that the union could save at least $500,000 a year in administrative costs by using a different management company.

Anderson has said the union could get a cheaper company to manage the fund, but the current company has done a good job for years.

Last year Metro Police comptroller Lois Willis asked the union to conduct an audit of the insurance plan. At the time Anderson said there was no need for a full audit.

A few weeks ago, when Holley announced the first vote seeking to oust Anderson, he pledged there would be a full audit of the insurance plan, and the union books would be open to the membership.

The audit will go forward and should be completed in June, Anderson said.

"I've said that we need to fix the insurance problem or guys are going to leave (the union)," said Maldonado, who as a sergeant is not a member of the union but gets his health insurance from the plan. "There is no way to justify our administrative costs when 99.99 percent of the other companies in the county would be able to do it for half of what we are paying."

Anderson, who works at the will of the board, will have to appoint someone to the vice president's spot, which is a full-time position. Holley, who could not be reached for comment, will return to being a full-time police officer.

Anderson said he wants to appoint someone to the vice president's position who wants to take over the leadership of the union when he retires. Anderson, who has been union president since 1991, says he only wants to stay on until the insurance issue is resolved and a new union contract is negotiated with Metro.

Maldonado said he and other board members have had concerns with the insurance that were not addressed by Anderson, and now rank and file members may decide to leave the union. He says he and other board members just want the insurance problems resolved and have no desire to take over the union.

"I don't want to run the union. I cannot take over the (union) because I'm a patrol sergeant," Maldonado said. "We don't have personal agendas. We just want some answers about the insurance."

Keith Paul covers crime and public safety for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4057 or by e-mail at keith@lasvegassun.com.