Cash for Obama at Issue as Public-Workers’ Union Picks Leader

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will select a new president today in an election that could lead to reduced political spending for President Barack Obama’s re-election.

The race to succeed Gerald McEntee, who has led the union since 1981 and emphasized national political activism, pits one of his closest aides against the head of the union’s largest local who argues for diverting political spending to local campaigns. The vote is being held at the union’s biannual convention in Los Angeles.