ADVANCE SPEEDING TICKETS HAVE POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS

ADVANCE -- Voters will send a message to the Advance Police Department to their town officials in the April 4 election.

Sides are taking shape in a controversy about the police department writing too many tickets and how police are treating people they stop.

No incumbents have filed for election, but two candidates have filed for mayor, three are running for Ward 1 alderman and two are seeking the seat in Ward 2.

Police Chief Don Cecil said he wants the city to be safe. Cecil, who has been chief since 1985 and an officer since 1978, said he wants children to be able to cross the streets without getting run over.

But, there are two types of candidates running for office: Those for the police department and those against it.

David Singleton is a candidate for Ward 2 alderman. He moved from Cardwell in 1990 to become a police officer, but aldermen fired him last March. He has filed a federal suit against the city, Cecil and the four aldermen last May, alleging the dismissal violated his rights.

Cecil questions Singleton's motivation and thinks he is only running to get rid of the police department.

Jack Brown, who retired from the California highway patrolman after 34 years and moved to Advance in 1992, is Singleton's opponent in the April election.

Singleton, a truck driver, said some people have complained to him about being stopped by local officers.

"The complaints have not been so much about the tickets, but the attitude of the officers," Singleton said. About 10 people have complained to him over the last two to three months.

Brown said he really don't know if there has been too many tickets written, but "a lot of people are unhappy about what's going on though."

He heard two people have taken a significant amount of business from town because they were upset with the local police department, Brown said.

He would like to see better public relations from the police department.

"If someone does something very seriously wrong, give them a ticket," Brown said. "Otherwise, let's handle people like ladies and gentlemen. Most people you contact out there are nice people."

Brown doesn't favor writing tickets for tickets' sake, adding that that doesn't accomplish anything except anger a lot of people.

Singleton said the officer drawing the most complaints is David George, a reserve officer. Singleton said George has ordered some girls from their cars on routine stops and told them to put their hands on the roof. Singleton said that upset one of the girls' mothers -- to have her daughter treated like a common criminal.

Singleton said he told the complainers to talk to the mayor and aldermen, but said the complainers respond that city leaders won't do anything about the police.

Brown suggests a study committee talk to residents to learn how they feel about the police department.

And, then the city should react to their concerns if they don't feel that what's going on is equitable.

Singleton cites other reasons for running for alderman.

"Primarily, I don't think the citizens are getting representation on the board," he said. Some things were forced on residents, such as the sale of the city's garbage truck and a contract with a private service for trash pick-up.

Singleton said the city doesn't take bids often enough when something is bought or sold, and the board has too many closed meetings.

As to his lawsuit, Singleton doesn't see that as a conflict of interest in running for alderman.

If something came up on the lawsuit, he would abstain from voting, he said.

Candidates for Ward 1 alderman also add to the mix of possible conflicts over the police department.

George's wife, Diann Williams George, is running for alderman in Ward 1 along with David Rhodes, who resigned from the police department last fall, and Kelly Hindman, a local fireman who works at the Golden Cat near Bloomfield.

Rhodes said he quit because of the number of tickets written last fall and because he only wanted to work part-time for the Advance department. He also works for several other law enforcement departments in the area.

When he was put on the schedule more and more, he didn't have time to take care of his other commitments, he said.