'Truthful and Consistent'
SBA Backs McCain In Presidential Race

By REUVEN BLAU

The Sergeants Benevolent Association Jan. 26 endorsed U.S. Sen. John McCain's bid for President, citing his candor, experience, and longstanding commitment to supporting military and law-enforcement officers.

JOHN McCAIN: 'Straight-shooter' SBA's choice.

"This is a person who has real credentials and speaks truthfully and is consistent as to what he's about," asserted SBA President Ed Mullins during a phone interview three days before the formal announcement in Fort Myers, Fla., where Mr. McCain was in a tight race for the Republican primary Jan. 29.

Always a Fan

The SBA backed Senator McCain long before his campaign began gaining momentum after its comeback victory in the New Hampshire primary, Mr. Mullins pointed out.

Mr. McCain was honored by the SBA in 2006 as the union's Man of the Year, the union president noted. "We have been working with him the past few years," Mr. Mullins said. "He's got the most experience out of any of the other candidates out there, and most importantly he's a straight-shooter."

The SBA, which endorsed President Bush in 2004, is the first city police union to back a candidate in the race. "I've been with him in Iowa," Mr. Mullins said of the Arizona Senator.

ED MULLINS: First police union to endorse.

Asked why the SBA decided against backing former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Mr. Mullins responded, "My question would be, why Rudy? What qualifies him? We are talking about an international position, and I think McCain understands foreign governments."

The SBA will turn to its approximately 700 to 800 retirees based in Florida to help support Senator McCain in the primary. "We've mobilized our phone banks," Mr. Mullins remarked. "We've made about 60,000 phone calls."

Reaching for Retirees

The union hoped to have up to 200 of those retirees directly volunteer for the campaign in the last independent state primary before Super Tuesday on Feb. 5. By all accounts, the race in Florida is tight, with some recent polls showing Mr. McCain with a narrow lead over Mitt Romney, and Mr. Giuliani - whose hopes for the Republican nomination may hinge on winning the state - lagging behind them.

RUDY GIULIANI: Florida his last stand?

Notable Choice

The SBA endorsement was notable, as the union employs Tony Coles, who was a Deputy Mayor during the Giuliani administration. But Mr. Mullins said that Mr. Coles's position as a consultant and legal counsel for the union did not factor into the labor organization's endorsement decision.

"One really has nothing to do with the other," he said, noting that the union's chief counsel is Edward F. Cox, the chairman of Mr. McCain's campaign in New York and a son-in-law of the late President Richard M. Nixon.

Mr. Mullins added, "We operate by what the members want, not what the people who work for us want. We are an advocate for the membership."

George Arzt, the former Press Secretary to Mayor Koch who's now a political consultant, said he wasn't surprised by the SBA's endorsement. "Traditionally they go for Republicans, and McCain looks like he's rather strong, and possibly the Republican standard-bearer at this point," he remarked. "It makes a lot of sense; now you are having a lot of people coming out of the Republican woodwork to endorse McCain."

Former U.S. Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato - who supported Fred Thompson until his withdrawal from the race last week - and several other Republican mainstays also gave their backing to Mr. McCain during a fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Jan. 22.

"Politics goes with strength," Mr. Arzt remarked during a phone interview the following day. "I would say most Republicans would make McCain the frontrunner and think that he will be the eventual nominee."