From this article it seems like there are 19,500 active cops in the state of Arizona with 9,000 retired cops! And remember cops vote! That is almost 20,000 voting cops. And when you throw in retired cop you have almost 30,000 voting cops.

If you assume elections are run honestly these 30,000 cops can easily throw an election if almost all of them vote, while only 5 percent or so of the rest of the registered voters show up, which is typical in many Arizona elections.

In the recent election where Prop 203 for medical marijuana won with 841,346 votes for and 837,005 votes against if all the active and retired police officers voted they would have been almost 2 percent percent of the total vote of 1,678,351 and 3 and 1/2 percent of the 837,005 votes against Prop 203.

Why should all of these cops vote against Prop 203?

Because the drug war is a jobs program for cops! And when money is on the line, or jobs are on the line cops will all show up and vote because it means money in their wallets.

Source

Pensions a reward for our risk

Middle-class retirement for battling flames, crashing drophouses

by Jim Mann - Nov. 21, 2010 12:00 AM

The headlines arrive all too often. Arizona law enforcement has lost five more good men in the past year. Sadly, news that our state is dangerous for police isn't surprising: Law-enforcement fatality rates nationwide have surged 43 percent in 2010.

We believe those who risk their lives to keep us safe have earned a pension equal to such grave responsibilities. Regardless, some politicians and special interests portray us as greedy. Here's some venom from the Goldwater Institute's Byron Schlomach:

"It's nice they have figured out a way to rob us," he said of Arizona's police and fire fighters. "This is ridiculous. How can anybody justify this?"

We justify our pensions through years of dedication and through taking a reasonable approach. The 19,500 actively employed members of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System contribute each pay period to fund what will be a middle-class retirement. How do I define "middle class"? The nearly 9,000 retirees drawing a PSPRS pension got an average retirement allowance of about $44,000 last year.

While that may sound better than a 401(k) decimated by Wall Street's crimes, it's hardly robbery. First responders earned their pensions by working third shifts, kicking down drophouse doors and battling 1,400-degree flames.

The Deferred Retirement Option Program also has been demonized by those who call us greedy. These critics don't mention that DROP lowers the annual pension payout for officers who choose it. They also skip their own role in skewing stats: Because many public-safety employees fear DROP being gutted by our Legislature, they enter it early, depriving PSPRS of potential savings.

Regardless of our opponents' insults and our deep disappointment that the state-chosen experts trusted to invest PSPRS contributions in years past routinely ranked last in investment returns - and lost a billion dollars chasing dot-com investments - Arizona's police officers remain good soldiers. We've taken pay cuts and furlough days. And we stand ready to discuss any legal, ethical, fair option meant to relieve taxpayers' distress.

Still, in fiscal 2009, the combined PSPRS contribution of every city, county and state government totaled $316 million. The state's budget alone? About $9 billion.

Our few percentage points may sound like a lot, but so is our risk. What price are you willing to pay to have someone in uniform between you and danger every day?

A 27-year veteran police officer, Jim Mann is the executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police Arizona Labor Council, which represents 6,500 officers statewide.