John van Houte Candidate Letter

Greetings!

I am honored to have been nominated for MCCDA president, and am writing this letter to seek your vote for the position.

I am currently a MCCDA steward, and am a part of both the MCCDA Contract Negotiation Team and the MCCDA Constitution Committee. My desire to be involved with MCCDA, beyond being a dues paying member, has been fueled by my desire to ensure that our voice is heard, and to positively affect the historically low morale we are facing currently.

Throughout my career, and especially as a sergeant, I have worked to ensure I take the time to listen to my coworkers and be available to help or give advice as needed. I’ve honed my listening and problem- solving skills through nearly 30 years in the law enforcement field and nearly 20 years as a member, and Team Leader, of the Crisis Negotiations team. As a member of the MCCDA contract negotiation team, I ensured I sought input and provided information as we negotiated the contract. I worked diligently to ensure that I faithfully represented you, regardless of years of service or PERS tier, during the negotiation process. I realize there is much work to do, and we have been and currently are facing some of the greatest challenges this agency has had to face. I am ready to do that work.

I understand some, if not many, of the problems we face will require working with command staff in order to get to a solution. I am committed to doing this in a way that is mindful of the fact that decisions impact people and not just numbers on a position summary. I am committed to building and fostering relationships with the county chair, board of commissioners, and the sheriff that will allow me to work with them on the membership’s behalf to address important things such as staff wellness and morale, recruiting and retention, staff professional development/training, and safe staffing levels. I will seek opportunities to bring the board and chair into our facilities in order to see the good work we do, and humanize the staff they hear about or see on a piece of paper.

As president, I will ensure I am approachable and available to everyone, regardless of shift or

assignment. I will take the time to listen to you and represent you. I will actively seek input from you, and work to increase membership involvement by collaborating through workgroups and committees. I will work to increase attendance and involvement at membership meetings by publishing an agenda in advance of the meeting, and adding after meeting round table discussions on topics that are important to us (topics that are provided/requested by you). I’ll work to incorporate technology that will allow us to attend and participate in meetings remotely.

I am very proud of the work that we do, and promise to use every opportunity to highlight the

professionals that we are and the sacrifices you make to do this job.

Thank you for your consideration,

Respectfully,

John van Houte