Union pays for billboard expressing ‘no confidence’ in Sheriff Scott Israel

A union is ramping up its pressure on embattled Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, paying for a billboard on Interstate 95 telling Gov. Rick Scott that “there is no confidence in Sheriff Israel.”

The billboard is just north of Sunrise Boulevard and is visible to southbound drivers.

About 85 percent of Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association members who voted — 534 out of 628 — cast ballots expressing “no confidence” in the sheriff’s leadership, the union announced this past week.

The association wants Scott — a candidate for U.S. Senate — to suspend or remove Israel from his post. Scott’s office has said the governor is awaiting the outcome of an independent investigation into the agency’s actions before and after the Parkland school massacre.

Union President Jeff Bell has criticized the sheriff for his response to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High that killed 17 staff and students.

“We are going to continue to speak out loud and make sure our voice is heard,” Bell said Friday.

“It’s a strong message to put it right in front of Rick Scott of how serious we are.”

He said the billboard will be up for the next month.

In a statement released after the union vote, Israel fired back, saying the union only represents a portion of the agency’s employees and describing the union’s tactics as an effort “to extort a 6.5 percent pay raise from this agency.”

The union’s contract covers 1,300 deputies and sergeants. The Broward Sheriff’s Office employs about 5,400 people.

The union is in the last year of a three-year contract. It hasn’t begun talks on a new one but has been negotiating in recent weeks for raises and been told there isn’t money for more than a 2.5 percent increase, Bell said.

Another union, the Federation of Public Employees also announced last week that it had renewed its contract by a vote of 1,111 to 38, which correlated with a vote of support and confidence in the sheriff.

Israel, a Democrat, was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2016. He’s not scheduled to face voters again until 2020.