Opinion - Elk Grove Police Officers Association should rescind support for controversial project

By Connie Conley | 

On Wednesday, May 15, a story was published in the Elk Grove Citizen regarding the Elk Grove Police Officer Association's support of the $750 million hospital proposed by the for-profit California Northstate University.  

As noted in the article and many others, the CNU project is a controversial one, with hundreds of residents outspokenly against it.  What expertise do the officers have in weighing in on what is best for the community they took an oath to protect and serve when it comes to land use and planning?  Were they strong-armed by former Elk Grove Mayor, and CNU paid consultant, Gary Davis? 

While still Mayor, Davis, incidentally, was a very vocal proponent of the proposed Wilton Rancheria Casino.  Stating publicly, as a selling point to the community members who opposed the project, Davis said he would be able to see the proposed casino from his backyard and that was okay with him. 

Recently, Davis moved to Stonelake and is now championing the proposed CNU hospital. Opponents have discovered, due to numerous city records requests, documents that appear to be in drastic contrast to what is being sold by Davis and others.

Many of Stonelake's residents believe their quality of life will be adversely affected by this project.  That is why anyone affiliated with the city of Elk Grove, and paid by the taxpayers, should be unbiased while this proposed project goes through the long governmental process.  There should be no undue influence from anyone on the city’s payroll.

As one of the two residents who fought the mighty machine back in 2006 to form Elk Grove’s police department, I believe the rank and file police officers should rescind their support of the CNU proposed hospital and stay impartial on contentious land use and planning projects.

Copyright © 2019 by Connie Conley. All rights reserved.