Troopers backing Swann for post

State troopers also endorsed the GOP gubernatorial candidate in 2002.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, which has been feuding with Gov. Ed Rendell over his plan to have civilians take over certain jobs from troopers, endorsed Republican Lynn Swann for governor Friday.
The board of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association unanimously approved the endorsement because union leaders feel Swann will be more sensitive to its concerns, said PSTA President Bruce Edwards. It is not payback for its problems with Rendell, he said.
"We know that [Swann] will be open to suggestions, will listen to all sides, that we will have a place at the table," Edwards told a news conference outside the union headquarters on the outskirts of Harrisburg, where he and Swann were flanked by members of the board.
"We have been given no promises, nor did we expect any, but we believe that he definitely is the leader for the future and will be best" for Pennsylvanians, he said.
Swann's pledge
Swann, a former Pittsburgh Steelers star who is making his first bid for public office, pledged that his door would be open to the troopers union and other law-enforcement groups.
He declined to take a position on the Rendell's beleaguered plan to reassign 68 troopers from administrative and forensic jobs to patrol duty and replace them with civilians. He suggested, however, that Rendell, a Democrat, has not fairly weighed the objections of the troopers, who say putting civilians in forensics could undermine criminal investigations.
"The days have long since passed when a governor can sit in an office, talk to a few of his buddies and pals, and come up with a plan in an area that they're not an expert in and then expect everybody to just follow along," Swann said.
The troopers union also endorsed Rendell's Republican opponent in the 2002 campaign.
Union issues
In May, Rendell backed off his demand that the troopers "civilianize" some jobs in exchange for funding to hire 90 new state troopers authorized in last year's budget.
A Rendell campaign spokesman said the dispute with the PSTA has been "over union issues, not over public-safety issues," and that the number of state troopers currently authorized represent the largest complement in the state's history.
The spokesman, Dan Fee, said 401 additional troopers have been authorized since Rendell took office in 2003, pushing the total to the legislatively imposed cap of 4,310 troopers.
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