In one of those moves that makes an observer wonder whether there's a need to connect the dots, the state's largest police officers union today endorsed Assemblyman Alberto Torrico for attorney general.

The Peace Officers Research Association of California is a prized endorsement, especially among Democrats, because although the union often gives its endorsements based on bread-and-butter labor issues its endorsement can be sold to voters as an indication of a candidate's law-and-order credentials.

Intriguingly, PORAC earlier this year took the unusual step of entering into the politics of an issue unrelated to either union matters or law enforcement. It came out in favor of the Tranquillon Ridge offshore drilling project sought by the Plains Exploration & Production Co.

Both PORAC and PXP are clients of the same Sacramento lobbying firm, Aaron Read & Associates.

It does make one wonder whether Ventura County Assemblyman Pedro Nava, also a candidate for the Democratic attorney general nomination, had much of a chance of getting PORAC's backing, given his status as the Legislature's most outspoken critic of the T-Ridge project.

Torrico also voted against the T-Ridge proposal when it was defeated in the Assembly in July. But it was Nava who led the charge to defeat the project sought by Read's client.

In yet another connection, Read also represents the proposed Clearwater Port LNG project. It might be noted that Nava's wife, Susan Jordan, took a lead role in defeating a previous LNG proposal off the Ventura County coast, the BHP Billiton project that was turned down by the State Lands Commission in 2007.