South Pas council
With the City Council elections coming up in South Pasadena, residents should take note of the endorsements each candidate is receiving, which serve as a reliable indicator of where their allegiance will lie once in office.

Larry Wilson's recent column reveals that candidate Art Salinas is being supported by Tom Jacobs and the police union. The same union that was instrumental in the coup to remove former Chief Dan Watson. It is also to be noted that Salinas has hired well-known union political consultant Jeffrey Monical as a campaign advisor.

If you think that the police union is supporting Art Salinas because he is tough on crime, think again. The South Pasadena Police Union, like all public employee unions, hopes to handpick those City Council members who will vote for the union's interests when the time comes to re-negotiate the union contract.

As many other cities have discovered recently, those contracts often come at the expense of the taxpayers and residents of those cities. The more money that goes toward police salaries and benefits, the less money is available for libraries, schools, social services and infrastructure improvements.

In deciding who to support, follow the money and watch the endorsements - it can tell you all you want to know about the candidate.

M.A. Abbasi
South Pasadena