Bum rap for prison union chief

Christine Hamel
Letter to the Editor Published 6/25/2008 Sacramento Bee
Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:00:29 +0000

Re “Parolee’s job spurs investigation,” June 21: Prison guards union
chief Mike Jimenez had the insight and forethought to give a helping
hand to a motivated parolee who was already motivated enough in his
efforts at rehabilitation to be advocating for other parolees, and this
parolee’s employment is being investigated?

Jimenez is an expert in the field, working years as a guard on the
front lines followed by years of advocating and negotiating in the
halls of politics on how to keep safety in California’s prisons, pay
guards a living wage and still stop the flow of recidivism causing a
prison population explosion.

Jimenez is acutely aware of the taxpayer dollars being spent on
privatizing prisons and shipping prisoners out of state. He does one
outstanding move to put his money where his mouth is, and he and his
motives are investigated?

Let me get this right – parolees should rehabilitate, but they should
only get certain jobs. Not jobs that would really give them a hand up
and out? Reminds me of the kids in the career counselor’s office who
are told college isn’t for you. That isn’t the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation. It’s the California Department of
Retribution and Racism.

- Christine Hamel, Sacramento

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Chief of prison guards union defends hiring of parolee
By Andy Furillo - afurillo@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT S aturday, June 21, 2008

California’s prison watchdog agency is investigating the state
correctional officers union and its president for giving a paid
internship to a paroled carjacker.

Officials from both the Office of the Inspector General and the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed the
probe into the employment of the parolee from Southern California in
the union’s legislative affairs office in Sacramento.

California Correctional Peace Officers Association President Mike
Jimenez blasted the prison department for making an issue out of the
union’s granting of the internship to Raul Gomez. The 21-year-old
parolee got out of the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi
last August after serving more than four years on his 2003 conviction.

“I’m trying to do the right thing here,” Jimenez said, of his union’s
employment of Gomez. “We as an organization are trying to do the right
thing. It doesn’t surprise me that CDCR would do this. They spend a lot
of time, money and effort talking about rehabilitation, but then doing
everything possible to keep (parolees) from being successful.”

Jimenez said he met Gomez last month in Los Angeles at a Latino
legislative caucus event on juvenile justice. He said that Gomez, a San
Bernardino County resident, “showed up to advocate on behalf of
parolees” and that he was immediately impressed by the young man’s
presentation.

“He’s a young man with a firm handshake who will look you in the eye
when he’s speaking to you,” Jimenez said. “He speaks with conviction,
and he’s very up-front about his past, and he lets you know he’s made
mistakes. He has dreams, he has hopes, and I think he has a future.”

Gomez could not be reached for comment Friday.

The CCPOA president said that Gomez, technically, is employed by a
union affiliate called Minorities in Law Enforcement. The group gets
virtually all of its funding from the CCPOA, and its chief executive
officer, Stephen B. Walker, also is the legislative affairs director of
CCPOA.

Jimenez said the union has been paying to fly Gomez from Southern
California every week.

With parolees generally re stricted to living and working in the county
of their commitment, Gomez’ travel to Sacramento could represent a
violation of the terms of his release. Officials did not provide
details Friday on whether Gomez had obtained a waiver from his parole
agent in Ontario that would allow him to make the trips to Sacramento.

“We’re trying to make it so the kid is successful – why would they do
that?” Jimenez said, when asked if Gomez is in danger of being returned
to custody on a parole violation. “This is exactly what is wrong – sick
– about our system.”

Union members’ befriending of Gomez also could get them in trouble with
regulations that bar what are called “overfamiliar” relationships
between prison and parole employees and offende rs.

Jimenez said he thinks he’s in the clear on that issue.

“It talks about ‘undue’ relationships, that you shouldn’t have any
‘undue’ interaction,” he said of the regulation. “Giving a kid a job is
not undue interaction.”

The investigation comes as the union has gone nearly two years without
a contract and nine months after the state unilaterally imposed
contract terms on the labor group.

Jimenez is up for re-election in September and could face a stiff
internal challenge. It would be the first such effort within the union
in more than 20 years.

His predecessor, Don Novey, who led the union from humble beginnings to
become one of the most powerful political organizations in Sacramen to,
said the CCPOA’s employment of Gomez could spell trouble for Jimenez
with the union’s rank-and-file.

“In a hypothetical situation, you just don’t hire felons, especially if
you’re a peace officer,” said Novey, who retired as the CCPOA president
and has since become a political strategist. “That’s all there is to
it. Our job is not to rehabilitate this guy in our legislative shop.”