Business Affairs

Serving as OSPOA President involves more than negotiating contracts and representing members during disciplinary investigations. OSPOA is also a business, with employees, attorneys, investments, property, and significant financial responsibilities. Managing those resources effectively is an important part of the job.

When I became President, OSPOA had been represented by the same attorney for approximately 30 years. As Vice President, I was told, “We can never get rid of him. He has too much institutional knowledge.”

I disagreed with that philosophy. Institutional knowledge is valuable, but no organization should become so dependent on one individual that replacing them seems impossible.

I also had concerns about the quality of representation our members were receiving. Some members expressed that they didn't want our existing attorney involved in their cases. That was a serious concern to me. In addition, I knew that no one can work forever. If our attorney unexpectedly retired or left, we could find ourselves in a vulnerable position, potentially competing with other associations searching for replacement counsel at the same time.

After evaluating the situation, I made the decision to terminate our longtime attorney and hire Public Safety Labor Group, arguably the best public safety labor law firm in Oregon. The quality, responsiveness, and depth of legal representation available to our members have improved significantly. This is one of the most important decisions of my presidency.

I made a similar change in how we manage the Association's money.

When I examined our finances, I discovered several hundred thousand dollars sitting in cash rather than being invested. I also had concerns about communication and the financial advice we were receiving.

I terminated our relationship with the previous investment adviser and hired Mikki Logan. With Mikki's guidance, we consolidated accounts, improved our investment strategy, and put previously idle money to work.

Those changes, combined with responsible financial management and investment performance, have helped OSPOA's investment portfolio grow to more than $1 million.

We also own our Association building outright. We paid off the mortgage in 2022. These significant assets belong to the membership, and they deserve to be managed carefully.

Another accomplishment I'm particularly proud of involves membership participation.

When I became President, approximately 60 represented employees had chosen not to pay OSPOA dues. As of October 2026, that number has fallen to 12 — an 80% reduction.

With roughly 850 represented employees, that means around 98.6% are now contributing to the Association. To me, that represents more than additional revenue. It represents growing confidence in OSPOA.

I'm not going to suggest that spending members' money responsibly deserves special recognition. That should be the expectation. Our members work hard for their money, their dues represent a significant financial commitment and they deserve to know those dues are being managed with care.

We've upgraded our legal representation, improved our investment management, built an investment portfolio exceeding $1 million, maintained ownership of our building without a mortgage, and significantly reduced the number of employees opting out of membership.

None of these accomplishments happened without the contributions of our State Executive Committee, professional advisers, and the members who support this Association.

Leadership should leave an organization stronger than when they found it, which requires making uncomfortable decisions and changing relationships that have existed for decades.

Is OSPOA financially and organizationally stronger today than it was four years ago?

I believe we are.