When Kevin Martin retired in November, I immediately asked Marty Halloran to assume the role of vice president. He agreed to do so, and has again risen to the occasion, showing unquestioned loyalty to this organization and providing me tremendous counsel on a variety of issues. He is stubborn, cantankerous, and at times argumentative, but my admiration and respect for Marty has never wavered, and it makes it much easier to leave this office knowing that he will be stepping in to lead this organization forward.
Marty knows the tasks ahead will be difficult. He comes into the presidency at a time when there will likely be more bad news than good. Pension and health care issues remain in the forefront, and additional compensation for some of the highest paid police officers in the country will not be likely in the immediate future. That said, I assure the membership that nobody is more prepared to lead the way than Marty Halloran. I appeal to all of you to lend him your support, encouragement, and confidence.
I first met Marty Halloran in the mid 1990's when he was appointed to the Community Services Committee at the POA. I later had the opportunity to work with him in the Narcotics Division for about 10 years.
Marty and I both possessed somewhat quirky personalities, and we were both stubborn and set in our ways. We also both enjoyed the taste of a good beer, and shared an undying loyalty to our fellow police officers.
While I realized that Marty was a Sacred Heart graduate and would never be able to attain the intellectual qualities of a St. Ignatius graduate, I also saw qualities in Marty that made him and Kevin Martin my first two choices to join me on the Executive Board when I assumed office in 2004.
First of all his loyalty to his fellow officer and the POA was unquestioned.
Secondly, after working with him in Narcotics all of those years, I have never seen a more organized, focused, and professional officer.
His chronologicals were impeccable, and when given a task -- usually one that nobody else wanted -- Marty never complained, and just did the job.
He was the first one through the door on a search warrant, and also the first one to volunteer to come in early or stay late to help out another cop.
He was the guy I would go to for help when writing a search warrant, and his professionalism was respected by all.
The other thing I admired about Marty was his ability to say "no." Without a doubt, the toughest thing we have to do at the POA is sometimes tell a member we cannot help him or her, and while Marty is one of the most compassionate people I have ever known, he can also make the tough decisions sometimes needed when running a union.
While serving as Treasurer of the POA, Marty was instrumental in stabilizing our financial situation and has established the POA as an economically viable organization with a net worth of over $12 million. Together, he and I have made tough decisions about the future of our organization, including the real estate transaction involving the sale of our properties at 7th and Bryant Streets, as well as the purchase of the property at 2nd and Townsend Streets and its subsequent lease arrangement. Marty did this with no formal training. He achieved all of this on behalf of the membership using good old-fashioned common sense and sound judgment.
He knows the organization backwards and forwards and for the past three months he has been establishing crucial relationships with the Mayor, The Board of Supervisors, and essential media. One of Marty's apprehensions about taking the job is that he will miss the gratification of performing his daily, routine police work. Policing San Francisco was along ago decided as his chosen profession. He loves the job, and he loves this city. But, he will step-up for the good of the membership if he knows that the members support him and are confidant that he will always have their best interest at heart. I thank Marty for his service and his loyalty, and I cannot think of a better successor to lead the SFPOA.
