SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego Police Officers Association endorsed Mayor Todd Gloria's bid for re-election on Thursday, marking a hit to his challenger police officer Larry Turner who drew blowback over statements on police and fire pensions during a recent debate. In its statement, the police union expressed concern over "troubling statements" made by Turner on the campaign trail, which they described as "confusing and detrimental to our mission." It specifically pointed to "his stance on altering pensions for new hires, his claim that we don't need more sworn officers on the department, and the release of confidential medical information about our Chief of Police." Meet the candidates running for mayor of San Diego The union went on to praise Gloria for his appointment of Police Chief Scott Wahl, support of pay raises for officers, commitment to recruit new staff, opposition to a city council proposal that would have reshaped police traffic stops, and advocacy for Proposition 36 on the Nov. 5 ballot. “The San Diego Police Officers Association believes the choice for Mayor is clear: Todd Gloria,” Jared Wilson, SDPOA president, said in a statement. “Mayor Gloria understands the needs of a large police department and the officers who serve our city. He puts the welfare of San Diegans first and is the best choice to keep San Diego safe for the next four years.” In his own statement, Gloria said he was honored to have the endorsement of the police officers association, describing it as a reflection of "their faith and trust in me to work with law enforcement to keep San Diego one of the safest big cities in the country.” The wedge between the police association and Turner first began to rear its head following an interview back in August with Voice of San Diego, where Turner appeared open to restarting conversations about giving future employees different guaranteed benefits. Scott Kavieff, communications director for Turner's campaign, disputed the police union's recollection of Turner's stance about discussing changes to pensions, saying he had been "very clear" about his position about maintaining the benefits and sworn officer staffing. As for the latter, Kavieff said Turner's stance is that "sworn officers could be supplemented with behavioral and investigative nonsworn officers who can take substantial workload from sworn officers and allow them to work where they are actually needed in the field." The police association's endorsement of Gloria is significant for the mayoral race, but the full impact it could have remains to be seen. Historically, the police officer's association have actively worked to influence local races through spending on things like campaign mailers. MORE: Your Local Election Headquarters 2024 However, this comes after the race saw a relatively unprecedented influx of cash in the form of a $1.1 million donation to the Lincoln Club, a conservative business organization that has set up an independent political action committee to support Turner's candidacy and oust Gloria. So far, upwards of $800,000 has been put into that committee, according to campaign finance disclosures. Meanwhile, Turner's campaign asserts it still has the support of the police officers represented by the SDPOA. "Every city union received raises from the Mayor and has paid him back by endorsing him, including the political police union, but rank and file cops still support Larry," Kavieff said. "They know he realizes what it's like on the streets because he's lived it with them."