MINUTES OF THE NOVEMBER 3, 2011 MEMBERSHIP MEETING FOR THE
 HOUSTON POLICE OFFICERS’ UNION

OPENING

Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer

BUSINESS

Gary Blankinship called the meeting to order. 

The meeting was dedicated to Officer Harry T. Mereness who was killed in the line of duty on Wednesday October 18, 1933.     

AWARDS
Officer Simon Cleveland from the Southeast Patrol Division was awarded the FTO of the Month award for August 2011.

Officer Michael Dunn from the South Central Patrol Division was awarded the FTO of the Month award for September 2011.

Officer Bill Bearden thanked the HPOU for their support of the US Open racquetball competition.  Officer Bearden presented Gary Blankinship with one of his medals from the tournament to show his appreciation for the Union's support.

BUSINESS
Gary Blankinship announced that the Stars and Stripes golf tournament was held last week and raised between $38,000 and $40,000.  Half of the money raised will go to the Assist the Officer Foundation and the other half will go to the PTSD foundation. 
 
Gary Blankinship stated that he invited several local labor leaders from other police organizations to attend today's meeting in order to hear the guest speaker.

Elections Results
Gary Blankinship read the election results:
2011 HPOU Board of Directors Election
Position/Candidate  Votes   Percentage
President
Ray Hunt    1583   82
Richard Still    353   18

Secretary
Joseph Castaneda  1058   56
Steven Burrell   469   25
Mary Young    370   20

Director #3    
Don Egdorf    614   33*
Jeff Wagner    734   40*
S. David Mireles  497   27

*Runoff between Egdorf and Wagner

Director #5
Jim Tippy    883   48
Jason Countryman  940   52

Director #7
George Shaw   1221   68
Juan Montelongo  572   32

Director #9
Brad Piel    538   29*
Gary Kinsey    535   29
Will Rieser    760   41*

*Runoff between Piel and Rieser 
Director #11
Douglas Griffith  1269   70
Erik Zugner    540   30

Director #13
John Miller    492   28
FJ Dolan    206   12
Lance Gibson   1084   61

Director #15
OJ Latin    511   27*
JA "Tony" Mora  362   19
Robert Sandoval  342   18
Mike Hewitt    321   17
Scott Dyer    362   19

*Runoff between Latin, Mora, Dyer

Director #20
Edward "Thomas" Fendia 736   42
Luis Menendez-Sierra  1024   58

There were a total of 2,008 officers that voted in the election which is believed to be one of the highest participation totals in the HPOU election history.

The runoff election starts on Thursday, November 03, 2011 at noon and ends on Thursday, November 10, 2011 at noon.

Gary Blankinship thanked Jacinda Gunter for being the election judge.  Gary also explained the online voting process and advised that no individual votes can be viewed.  The election judge sends a daily report of the total number of votes cast but the report does not include any specific information about the election standings or individual voters.   Additionally, the online voting method cost the HPOU approximately $4,000 per year for an unlimited number of elections.  The previous elections that were held via the mail cost the HPOU $12,000 per election.  The online voting method saves the Union a significant amount of money.

Gary Blankinship introduced Sgt Laura Spires and she held the raffle for an AR-15 to benefit Officer Jason Roy. 

Gary Blankinship gave a State of the Union presentation to the membership.  He addressed the issues faced by the Union since he took over the leadership in 2008. 
HPOU as of 2008
• No Emergency Fund
• Total Liquid Assets - $602,471.09
• The 1602 building was 25 years old and in need of repair.
• No auxiliary power System or Disaster plan in place.
• Owed over $25,000 on the fleet (more than the value of the fleet)
• Three former union officials involved in criminal conduct.
• Outdated constitution
• No financial audit or oversight in place.
• No continuing education for board members
• No officer assistance program in place
• Membership numbers were dropping, HPOU was in competition with HPPU and relationships were strained with HPOPS, AAPOL, OSSO and LEAP.
HPOU as of September 1, 2011
• Total Liquid Assets - $1,588,854.70 (One million dollars in Emergency Fund)
• The 1602 building was renovated ($620,000)
• Auxiliary power and disaster plans are in place
• Admin and Legal fleet vehicles are under two years old and there are no liens on any vehicles.
• Ronald Martin pled guilty and received a Felony conviction, 10 yrs probation and is currently paying restitution to the HPOU
• Matthew Calley pled guilty and received 20 years confinement
• Jeff Larson (as of 11/3/11) pled guilty to a Class A misdemeanor of misappropriation of fiduciary funds, received 18 months of deferred adjudication, will surrender his TCLEOSE license and pay $2,165 in restitution to the HPOU.
• Constitution has been re-written, extensive audit and financial oversight implemented, board members receive continuing education
• Officer and Family assistance plan in place
• Membership has increased from 4454 (1998) to 5157 (2011)
• Relationships with other employee groups have been repaired.

Gary Blankinship announced that as of 2:00 p.m. on Thursday November 3, 2011 he is resigning as president of the HPOU.  Gary thanked his fellow board members for all of their hard work and thanked his wife for all of her support during his time as HPOU President.  He also expressed his confidence in Ray Hunt as the future HPOU President.

Due to Gary Blankinship's resignation the following appointments were made:
JJ Berry will serve as the interim President
Doug Griffith will serve as the interim 1st Vice-President
Bill Bearden will serve as the interim Director #11

Gary Blankinship introduced Dr. Elaine Bernard, of the Harvard labor and worklife program.  Dr. Bernard presented "Heroes to Zeroes" and spoke about the current financial situation of the United States and why Unions are being targeted by politicians.  Dr. Bernard talked about the importance of Unions to the nation's working conditions for the middle class and the importance of collective bargaining.

Ray Hunt addressed the membership and stated that he had just received a phone call in regard to the Larson case.  Larson pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor for misappropriation of fiduciary funds, received 18 months of deferred adjudication, surrendered his TCLEOSE license and will repay $2,165 in restitution. 

 Ray Hunt then announced the door prizes.

ADJOURNMENT

Lance White made a motion to adjourn the meeting.  JJ Berry seconded the motion. The motion passed by a majority of membership.

Minutes prepared by: Dana Hitzman, Assistant Secretary

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