PPOA Week in Review: January 9, 2021

Southern California Law Enforcement Community Mourns Loss of Retired LASD Chief/OCSD Sheriff Sandra Hutchens

January 4: The Southern California law enforcement community is mourning the loss of Sandra Hutchens, a retired law enforcement leader whose career spanned more than four decades in Los Angeles County and Orange County. After committing 32 years to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and rising to the rank of Division Chief of Homeland Security, Sandra was selected to lead the Orange County Sheriff's Department (OCSD) in 2009. In her two terms at the helm of that department, she won praise for getting OCSD back on track following a series of scandals and steered the department through significant budget cuts before retiring in 2019.

Please keep the Hutchens family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Pre-Meeting re: Sergeant Promotional Exam Process

January 5: PPOA President Tab Rhodes participated in a pre-meeting teleconference with Executive Director Wayne Quint Jr. and PPOA Attorney Jim Cunningham on Tuesday to discuss the LASD Sergeant promotional examination tentatively scheduled for January 23, 2021.

Swearing-In Ceremony for New Los Angeles County CEO

January 6: Fesia Davenport was sworn in as the new Los Angeles County Chief Executive Officer this week. Davenport has served as acting CEO since the retirement of Sachi Hamai in August 2020.

"I have had the pleasure of working with Ms. Davenport in her role as acting CEO over the last few months and have been impressed with her professionalism and genuine concern for the labor movement in LA County," said President Rhodes. "PPOA looks forward to helping her navigate through the unique challenges and opportunities ahead for dedicated county employees."

As CEO, Davenport is responsible for managing the direction and day-to-day operations of the nation’s largest municipal government, including oversight of the County’s $37 billion-plus budget and coordinating implementation of key priorities of the Board of Supervisors.

Click here to read more about the new LA County CEO.

Meet and Confer re: Sergeant Promotional Exam Process

January 6: PPOA representatives participated in a 'meet and confer' teleconference with LASD executives and staff from Testing Development and Sworn Exams to discuss the upcoming Sergeant Promotional Examination process. Topics included COVID-19 compliance, test administration, reading of record and key-copy inspection. Participants from PPOA included President Rhodes, Board Member Jim Schallert, Executive Director Quint and Attorney Jim Cunningham. It should be noted that later in the day, Sheriff Villanueva decided that — given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — the exam originally scheduled for January 23, 2021 will instead be administered on March 20, 2021 barring any unforeseen circumstances. PPOA and the Department agreed to continue meeting next week to further discuss details.

Sheriff Discusses Year-End Summary and COVID-19 Issues

January 6: Sheriff Villanueva hosted a press conference on Wednesday to discuss an end-of-year summary for 2020 and management of COVID-19 issues. Click here to watch the video.

Meet and Confer re: Community College Bureau

January 6: PPOA representatives took part in a 'meet and confer' teleconference with LASD executives to discuss Community College Bureau schedule changes due to contract updates pertaining to the recent reduction of services at CCB campuses. Meeting participants from PPOA included President Rhodes, Executive Board Member Coleman, Board Member Blankenship, Board Member Jimenez, Executive Director Quint, Sr. Labor Rep. Venise Wallace, and Labor Rep. Teresa O'Neil.

COVID-19 Conference With PPOA Legal Team

January 7: PPOA hosted its weekly legal meeting on Thursday in order for President Rhodes, Executive Director Quint, Sr. Labor Rep. Wallace, Labor Rep. O'Neil, Intake Representative Kevin Thompson and PPOA attorneys to address and analyze COVID-19 issues impacting PPOA members.