April 22, 2011 12:10 AM UTC

Mejia Snags Police Endorsement

•  
• by: Colorado Pols

From a release mailed to us by the James Mejia campaign:

DENVER –  Denver Mayoral Candidate James Mejia, who recently released his “Denver’s Public Safety Department: Building Trust Through Leadership, Transparency & Accountability” policy paper, has secured the endorsements of the Denver Police Protective Association (PPA) who join Denver Sheriff Department Lodge 27 of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in endorsing Mejia. Also announcing their support of Mejia are Former Manager of Safety Butch Montoya and prominent constitutional law and civil rights attorney Joe Salazar.

Folks, this is a big endorsement. It’s one of the best endorsements Mejia could get at this stage of the game.

Police and sheriffs are big in Denver. Certainly there have been issues within Denver’s police community for the past few months, but by and large, communities still look at policemen as beacons of trust. With this endorsement, Mejia’s improved his standing as a public safety candidate, and that’s an angle we know voters love to get behind.

This will expand Mejia’s field campaign, to be certain. He’ll have PPA and FOP members walking communities with him. It’s an even bigger deal in terms of branding: that “endorsed by police” label carries as much or more weight as “endorsed by firefighters.” Voters tend to trust the people trusted by the people who protect their property and lives, and Mejia would be smart to make the most of this endorsement while it still matters.