Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Lykos and Law Enforcement

Alan Bernstein reminded me in his article covering the debate this morning about how Lykos shunned the endorsement of Law Enforcement so she could say that justice plays no favorites (or some similar sounding political blah-blah slogan).

And yet, she then turns around and continuously refers to the District Attorney's position as the "Top Law Enforcement Position in the County". If you didn't watch the debate, trust me, she made that reference repeatedly.

Is there a gap in logic here? She doesn't want the backing of law enforcement because she doesn't want to have the appearance of favoring law enforcement, yet she refers to the position she seeks as the Top Law Enforcement Position. Well, if that's the case, wouldn't she want the endorsement of the police agencies that she will, uh, be "on top of"? (NOTE: Yes, I know the use of the phrase "on top of" will open the door to comments about Kelly Siegler's demonstration during the Susan Wright trial. Go ahead.)

Pat Lykos worked for HPD and thus in law enforcement.

Their lack of endorsements for her might just illustrate that cops liked her in law enforcement about as well as attorneys liked her around the courthouse.

And as to her "not wanting their endorsement"?

Ever heard the fable about the sour grapes?

7 comments:

Ron in Houston said...

AHCL

I think you may be onto something. I highly doubt she'd have turned down an offered endorsement.

It will be interesting. I suspect she does know how to work the Republican rank and file.

The Phantom Bureaucrat said...

Lykos brings up her law enforcement credentials on a regular basis so I think it would be fair to ask what exactly did she do for HPD? According to her resume, she went to college while employed by the city as an officer decades ago but I wonder exactly what she could have done there to give her any significant experience for the current position she seeks.

Apparently, she never promoted to a higher rank and merely used the position to fund her educational efforts. It is generally accepted that women in policing, especially in these parts, were essentially meter maids back then (I'm not saying this was appropriate, just that it was standard practice) and not the kind of officers that gain valuable experience.

Granted, it was so long ago that I doubt she remembers much about her time working for the city police; she can't even remember a single incident of racism by ADA's in court much more recently and uses that as a selling point in her campaign, but it raises other questions too.

First, three of the current candidates, all the least qualified by conventional standards, worked for HPD. Bradford tallied up an impressive number of scandals in his career there, Perry is the candidate that no one will discuss the private life of, and Lykos apparently did nothing noteworthy while so employed.

I'm a supporter of police in general and applaud their dedication to the community but these three really did little worth praising from what can be easily discovered. It might also explain Lykos' demeanor with people since it reminds me of the HPD of old where they'd sooner beat the snot out of you as look at you (your mileage may vary).

Second, given the howls by the community regarding local police, why are some of the most liberal, arguably cop-hating individuals in the community all of a sudden showing love for candidates like Lykos and Bradford? Neither seems to appreciate what the term "civil liberties" means given their lengthy careers and actions subscribed to them so what gives?

jigmeister said...

I know a little about Lykos police background. Some of you will remember Wally Zaringue who was an investigator in Special Crimes until he retired about 10 years ago. He a police sergent with HPD assigned to Child Abuse Investigations (was then part of Sex Crimes) for a long time. At some point in his career he was the senior partner and Lykos the junior partner, riding together. It may have been before he went to Child Abuse. None the less, she was very abusive towards him after a while and actually physically fought him at one point and she was then transferred. It would be interesting to see her fitness reports.

Anonymous said...

From JAGJO ~
"SAYING" she is shunning the endorsements of the law enforcement agencies at this stage in the game ( early voting started yesterday with now just under 2 wks util the primary)and claiming that is an integrity move on her part, is just pure BS. Lykos may be " saying" that her reason for not wanting law enforcement backing is based on a conflict of interest ( i.e., favoritism)but the reality is, she is just saving face. Within a matter of days of K S announcing her candidacy, many law enforcement associations began giving their endorsements to K S. You can view those on her website.
Pat is just saying that at this stage in the game because she has been spinning her HPD resume all over town as a major plus in her credentials and now she realizes she is NOT going to get the law enforcement agencies backing.So, as to not look the fool, she is using the " I didn't want them anyway" spiel because she is trying to preempt being asked the questions as to why with her glorious HPD career is she not getting the backing of the law enforcement agencies( ya know the deal.. how come they are not backing " one of their own")
I think Grandma Lykos is playing the voters for fool to think that anyone who is watching this race closely does not know the facts.
JAGJO~

Jason said...

If the incident about Lykos and her partner is true then that ought to come out. Let the people know what kind of person they are voting for.

jigmeister said...

Wally was never much of a story teller and didn't exagerate much, so I am very inclined to believe it, but you won't get him talking in public. I haven't heard from him in about 5 years. And it is certainly consistent with my recollections of her demeanor.

Murray Newman said...

There's also the legendary story of her kicking Sonny Dollar in the family jewels during a training exercise that WASN'T supposed to involve physical contact while she was at HPD.

Don't think that Sonny will be voting for her, either.

Episode Seven: The Voters Awaken - A One Act -Sci-Fi Play

SCENE:  The Death Star orbits over Downtown Houston. [INTERIOR] The Imperial Council Chambers. EMPRESS OGG sits at the head of a long table ...