Cochise County voters may think they are seeing double in the race for Sheriff.  That’s because challenger Bill Cloud and Sheriff Larry Dever both claim to have received the highly coveted endorsement of the Arizona State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).

 The Arizona FOP is a labor relations union with over 6500 members in 42 lodges, including two based in Cochise County: Huachuca Lodge # 28 in Sierra Vista and the Douglas Lodge #38 in Douglas.

Cloud has claimed for months to hold the Arizona FOP endorsement, despite questions that surfaced soon after the endorsement was posted on his campaign website  www.billcloudsheriff2008.com.  The concerns dealt with whether a formal endorsement had in fact been awarded, and if so was it done in a way that violated the group’s bylaws. 

According to Arizona FOP president Bryan Soller, a local lodge can recommend an endorsement of a political candidate. So can the group’s elections endorsement committee. However,  only the state organization can officially approve an endorsement, and that must be done during the State Lodge conference, which wasn’t held until a few weeks ago.

It appears Cloud, a former Department of Public Safety (DPS) detective, did not request or receive a recommendation from either local lodge. Instead he requested an endorsement directly from the Arizona FOP’s endorsement committee.  That committee is chaired by John Ortolano, vice president of the Arizona FOP.

Ortolano is also president of the FOP’s 1100 member DPS Lodge #32. Cloud was affiliated with Lodge #32 before he resigned his position in order to challenge Dever for the Republican nomination.  

As recently as June 17, Ortolano stood behind Cloud’s claim of the endorsement, writing in an email “for the record, Billy Cloud has received the Arizona State FOP endorsement for the office of Sheriff of Cochise County.”  However, there was no record of a Cloud endorsement being approved at a prior conference, and this year’s State Lodge conference had not yet been held.

When contacted about the endorsement dispute, Cloud said he was unaware of any concerns until just recently. There is no indication Cloud knew the recommendation of Ortolano’s endorsement committee was not the same as an official endorsement.  

Bob Randall of Huachuca Lodge #28 would not speak specifically about the endorsement controversy; however, he confirmed Lodge #28 voted unanimously to support Dever, who is not an FOP member. Lodge #28’s recommendation was then forwarded to the Arizona FOP for consideration at the recent State Lodge conference.

Randall, who is also serves as the Arizona FOP Sergeant-At-Arms, said the endorsement was officially awarded to Dever at the conference.

The endorsement of Dever was also confirmed by Soller, who said Cloud has been asked to remove any reference to an Arizona FOP endorsement from his website.  As of July 2 the endorsement is still listed, which Soller said will be addressed further if Cloud does not “remove all mention of an FOP endorsement soon.”   

Dever has thanked Lodge #28 president Thomas Ransford and others for working “very diligently to correct a serious divergence from FOP protocol and violations of membership by-laws regarding political candidate endorsements... I also greatly appreciate the confidence you and other members of the Lodge have expressed by endorsing me for continued service in the Office of Sheriff.”

Cloud and Dever face off in the September 2 Republican primary. The winner goes up against Democrat Norman Bradley.  Voters can see Dever and Cloud in a rare joint appearance at the July 18 Sheriff/Judicial candidates forum hosted by the 1200 Club in Sierra Vista. For more information about that event, contact Barbara at 520-459-1715.