by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Workspace: Fraternal Order of Police President Nelson Cuba
Some people are born into politics. The Kennedys come to mind. Others are inspired at a young age to run for office. City Council member Clay Yarborough comes to mind.
Then, there are those get involved in politics after being directly affected by a decision made by others. That’s how Nelson Cuba went from being a street cop in Springfield where day in and day out he busted drug dealers to president of the local Fraternal Order of Police.
“I was at the (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office) academy taking a class and I didn’t like something the (police) union was doing,” said Cuba, who spent five years patrolling Springfield, another six with the Jacksonville Housing Authority and two as an investigator for the Office of General Counsel.
“I was told, ‘if you don’t like something, do something about it.’ So, I decided to run for the FOP board,” he said.
Cuba was elected to the board and eventually served as vice president under David Stevens. In June 2003, Cuba was elected president and has held the position since. In December, he ran uncontested for another two-year term.
He says while a patrolman, running the local police union never crossed his mind. Often outspoken and called brash, Cuba soon discovered there was a revolving door at the jail.
“I enjoyed what I did on the streets. There was a lot of drugs in those days and there were a lot of gangs in the early 1990s,” he said, explaining he would arrest a drug dealer and see the dealer back on the same corner in less than 24 hours.
Cuba soon realized serving on the FOP was a way to make a difference in the lives of officers and their families.
“If you could help an officer with one issue, you saw results,” said Cuba.
In the FOP, Cuba runs a union with about 3,000 members. However, its reach goes well beyond its membership. Cuba says the FOP actually consists of about 10,000 people when you take members and their families into consideration. During election years, many of those 10,000 people tend to vote for whomever the FOP endorses. That creates a powerful, intriguing and in-demand voting bloc.
Cuba said the FOP will stay out of local politics until after the November state and national elections.
“We are going to get involved (in the mayor’s race) because we need to stand for something,” he explained. “But, it won’t be until late November or early December.”
Cuba said a typical day that’s not consumed with labor negotiations includes lot of phone calls from members about human resources, medical issues and internal discipline. He also deals with legislative issues at the state level and, thanks to being the national trustee for Florida, issues on the national level.
Cuba said the FOP’s relationship with the JSO administration is like a marriage.
“About 95 percent of the time we agree. Then, there’s that 5 percent of the time we don’t agree,” he said. “But, we know we have to come to a resolution.”
His impression of the FOP’s relationship with the mayor’s office and the OGC isn’t nearly as rosy.
“At times it’s tougher to deal with because of the information that’s put out. Most of the time, only half of the facts are put out,” he said.
Cuba said he has pondered running for office and maintains it’s still something he thinks about.
“I at one point had some political aspirations. The more I see how politics works, the more I enjoy what I do,” he said. “I would never say never. As long as the members will have me, I will serve.”
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