by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The race for president is heating up, but locally the political scene is in a bit of a lull. The County races are over and the State primaries are over a year off. However, the Fraternal Order of Police is still holding monthly luncheons complete with fried seafood, sweet tea, current and former police officers and — yes — plenty of politics.
While there may be no way to tell how many campaigns have been won over the years thanks to becoming a regular at the FOP lunches, there’s no doubting their value. One look around the room reveals the value of being seen: judges, police officers, current and former elected officials fill the simple room. With them, though, comes maybe not just one vote but rather an entire family’s worth of votes; or part of their neighborhood; or friends; or coworkers.
“Before politics, there is where I worked for 15 years when I was with the State Attorney’s Office,” said Mike Weinstein, who’s running for the State House of Representatives seat currently held by Dick Kravitz. “Many of these people are still friends of mine. I would come for that whether I was in politics or not.”
Weinstein said there’s no denying, though, the value of an FOP endorsement.
“If you run for office, the support of the law enforcement is important,” he said. “It’s not necessary, but it’s important. Whether they support me or not, they are still my friends.”
Angela Corey is running for State Attorney and she’s new to the political scene. That doesn’t mean she’s a stranger to the FOP.
“I am not a typical candidate,” she said. “These are my friends and I have known them my whole career. I have been coming to these lunches for years.”
Corey said the FOP lunches present an opportunity to meet with the law enforcement community and build the kind of relationship necessary to be a successful State Attorney.
“The FOP endorsement is important. This is a chance to mix and mingle and that’s a good thing.”
Gordon Morgan is also new to politics. The 20-year veteran of the Clerk of the Court’s Office is running for State Rep. Stan Jordan’s Dist. 17 seat. Like Weinstein and Corey, he’s familiar with the FOP and understands the value the group potentially means to a candidate.
“When I worked for (former Clerk of the Court) Henry Cook, he would bring me here,” said Morgan, adding he works with the local judiciary, City employees and local and state law enforcement on a daily basis. “Certainly it’s good for me, and good for my political aspirations, to come and let my friends know what I am doing and ask for their support. It’s always good to see old friends.”
Morgan said his first priority is his job, but he does retire next May and plans to campaign full-time.
“That’s what I intend to do,” he said.