Firefighters? Anyone?

You do not understand. I do not have any derogatory feelings toward you personally. I am honestly sorry if you took this to be true. Your recommendations for the upcoming election do not meet my standard for the selection of election to office. And, yes, we would have still been engaged in this discourse because of your and my attitudes toward how candidates should be endorsed. Good day to you sir, as well. BTW this will be my last post concerning the election recommendation by the Firefighters Union.

As a firefighter and a member of 3516, I have been involved personally supporting candidates by placing signs and participating at events at the National, State and Local level. Just as you may want to try to convince me as to why you are supporting a candidate or you may have a sign in your yard expressing your choice. I support the those candidates because I have heard them speak and have asked others why they are supporting them. As for the signs, I have placed more signs than I care to count, I have also picked those signs up and then some. Please be assured I will be picking signs up again this year.

Mr. Osborne, Every candidate who responded to our questionnaire by answering the questions on it and submitting their responses to our organization, was invited to our regular monthly meeting in June. During this meeting the members of our organization asked their own candid questions of each of the candidates. After all the candidates had their turn in the hot seat (so to speak), the membership held a vote. This is how we determined which candidates to support.

Each of these candidates received the same questionnaire you received. Each of these candidates did their own research and answered the questions to the best of their ability. This is how we have always done it. It would not be fair to provide "questionnaire aid" to any individual candidate. If the candidate does not answer the questions as written, then the candidate does not get invited to the meeting of the membership. We have never changed our process to bend to the will of any individual candidate.

Much like the constituency of Walton County District 5, we believe that our elected officials are in office to serve our needs, not vise-versa. Our agenda is a simple one, support the campaign of those who will support us. When a candidate suggests to us that he or she knows better what questions we should be asking and how those questions should be worded, it seems a lot like the tail trying to wag the dog.

My personal hope is that if you are elected, you will let your constituency determine what actions you take as a commissioner and not vise-versa.

You suggest that our process is not fair. I suggest this to you: It was not us who did not give you a fair chance for our support. It was you who denied yourself this opportunity.

A lawyer did not write our questionnaire. It was written by firefighters, who are more intelligent than some people give them credit for.

When Dennis read in the paper, The Walton Sun, that the firefighters had decided to endorse Tom Cooper for sheriff, he immediately called the station to find out why as this was the first he was hearing about it!! He was never sent a questionaire or asked anything by phone or in person, never invited to speak at any forum for the firefighters, and was eager to let them know that he was cross-certified as a firefighter himself. (His father and Uncle and many other relatives were firefighters). He never got a call back! I speak for my husband now as he is at a function that I will not mention again, so as not to be accused of exploiting this very sensitive situation. I think I can speak for Dennis now, as I know this to be a fact, as he waited and waited for that call to come in. He never got a chance to state his positions and the fact that he was cross-certified as a firefighter. I write this now as it seems they were mostly concerned about the sheriff candidates......and it simply isn't true that they were all invited to a forum for comparison, unless of course his invitation got lost in the mail, which I suppose is possible, but I would think they would have followed up if they were really serious about endorsing the right person for the job.

Sheila Wise

FF2, I hope you are placing those signs in a legal manner, only on private property with owner's permission.

To the FireFighters Union, you mention that you have not endorsed a candidate in the Dist 3, County Commissioners Race, which is one race which can directly affect funding for emergency services. I'm curious to know if either of those two candidates asked for, received and, or, returned your questionnaire. Also, are you still trying to gather information on them? Larry Jones has written and recorded record showing how he votes for such things, so would it be safe to deduct that he is not your choice?

Shelia, if I correctly read an earlier post, the firefighters union issued questionnaires to the candidates whom asked for the firefighters' support. Then, and only then, if the candidate returned the completed questionnaire and they felt the candidate was worthy, they asked the candidate to be a part of their forum. I hope they will correct me if I misunderstood their qualifications for issuing the questionnaires.

Shelia, if I correctly read an earlier post, the firefighters union issued questionnaires to the candidates whom asked for the firefighters' support. Then, and only then, if the candidate returned the completed questionnaire and they felt the candidate was worthy, they asked the candidate to be a part of their forum. I hope they will correct me if I misunderstood their qualifications for issuing the questionnaires.

Guess that helped in "narrowing" it down to one person....Tom Cooper. Sure is a shame Dennis didn't get an opportunity to present his qualifications/ideas/etc. to the SWFD, considering it could have made the difference.... if what they say is true. Guess we'll never know will we?

MAKE THE WISE CHOICE YOUR CHOICE


Sheila Wise

Referring back to some of the sample questions, it almost sounds as they are giving candidates ultimatums, are you for or against the highest possible emergency services. Personally, I'd love to see top-notch emergency services, and I have often stated that I think the people working in these jobs, need to be paid enough to keep them. I think the potential for problems with the possible answers comes from the fact that the County has cut the budget tremendously. We are no longer living in the "ideal" world of plenty of tax money, where we can afford to outfit every department with top of the line equipment, like we did for a few years. Get it while you can, seemed to be the motto, looking at the shiny pickup trucks of the TDC, Sheriff's Dept, Code Enforcement, etc. I think most people would value emergency services more than other departments, and maybe some numbers could be pushed around from other departments, rather than having "across the board" equitable cuts for the entire county, but the reality is that the County is not able to afford to outfit every department as it has in the past. In summary, I feel like the sample questions seem to suggest that money is no issue, when in fact it may be the biggest issue which the County faces.

For those of you who are interested, I am supporting the current school board slate and current Supt of schools Anderson and Larry Jones for District for District 3. I supported Rod Smith for Governor but when Davis won I voted for Crist. I will be supporting Obama for Prez and I voted for Bush x2. There are times that even within our brother/ sisterhood disagree and we vote our heart. I hope for the sake of Florida that Crist is selected for VP.

For those of you who are interested, I am supporting the current school board slate and current Supt of schools Anderson and Larry Jones for District for District 3. I supported Rod Smith for Governor but when Davis won I voted for Crist. I will be supporting Obama for Prez and I voted for Bush x2. There are times that even within our brother/ sisterhood disagree and we vote our heart. I hope for the sake of Florida that Crist is selected for VP.

By "current school board slate" do you mean you support the two incumbents? You are on the money regarding our governor, that is for sure.:angry:

Yes, Mark and Mildred if I remeber correctly

For those of you who are interested, I am supporting the current school board slate and current Supt of schools Anderson and Larry Jones for District for District 3. I supported Rod Smith for Governor but when Davis won I voted for Crist. I will be supporting Obama for Prez and I voted for Bush x2. There are times that even within our brother/ sisterhood disagree and we vote our heart. I hope for the sake of Florida that Crist is selected for VP.

Wow! I sincerely appreciate you sharing that.

You must be the one firefighter who is not registered with their union, since you are voting for a Democrat, have already decided on voting for Larry Jones. (sarcasm off). If you ARE a member of the union, I am glad that you are willing to think and make your own decisions. I would hope that everyone does.

I know that in group settings, surrounded by peers, individuals tend to want to fit in with the other members, and sometimes, act differently once away from that group setting of peers. So, whether or not one is in a group, doesn't mean that they fully support the group's choices, just as I was explaining that my personal choices won't and shouldn't necessarily correlate to Emerald Coast Assoc. of Realtors.

Again, thank you very much for sharing your personal choices for candidates.

This whole discussion seems to me to have progressed well beyond the beating horse stage.

To me this all still goes back to this is one group is supporting, just like they supported Herman Walker in 2006. Based on all the angst they have received, I will be surprised if they participate in the discussion any longer. I wouldn't. I think after much discussion/banter/questioning they put up why they selected who they did? Some may not like it, some may say the process was unfair, and some may not agree (I don't on all of them). But the way I see it is that I have NEVER taken anyone's endorsement over my own and it is every citizen's responsibility to look into why they want a certain person to be or not be elected. We now know why they chose who they did and if anyone reading these posts honestly think the firefighters would have chosen anyone else then they haven't done their homework. I don't live there and could have picked their candidates in all races except for two of the fire board seats.

Do you think Osborne or Hudson would have answered their questions in a way that is better then Braunstein. I don't but if you think they would then go and do some research. Moreover, tell them why they picked the wrong person.

Do you really think that anyone would have answered better than Cooper. He was on their board!!! Don't fool yourself, and once again, if you think someone else would, tell them.

As for fire board members, I don't know enough but in the simplest form Maurice Gilbert makes sense or he probably wouldn't have been such a long standing member and chairman.

I guess my point is that the firefighters took a position on who they felt best supported their interests. They are a special interest group like all the rest, and that includes you and me. We also are trying to decide who we think would best serve our perception of the way things should be. So why are we nitpicking the results when in reality there is no other way that it would have come out (if you know the people involved).

It's up to us to take this as another piece of information and add it to all the other pieces of information to make an informed vote. I appreciate the firefighters decision and rationale for it. It does not hold any more weight than some other opinions, or my own research. Sorry I am now off my soapbox.

First JOe I am a longgggggg time member and proud of my association, I support the decision we have collectively made and if I had not would vote as I see fit. As far as the School candidates and Lary Jones I have had the opportunity to speak with them all in the past and have appreciated the work they perform on my behalf as elected officials. When I had the opportunity to support Herman Walker in 2006 I did for numerous reasons including the rezoning of the 5 districts which provided South Walton the opportunity to have 2 votes on the board, and he voted in favor of the CON for SWFD to provide Emergency Medical Transport if my memeory serves me correctly. Oh and in spite of our support he got spanked. This is the nature of politics, you lose some and you win some. We were also involved with Sara Commanders Race.

Wtf

Lets get one thing straight right now. I do not have a problem with your submitting a questionaire to candidaates, only with it not being submitted to all fairly and equally. Also, FYI, for 8 years, I helped put together regional EMS systems for the state of Oklahoma, so I am quite familar with the fact that you save lives and save property and I certainly commend you for it. I don't know where you got or perceived the idea I am attacking you. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am a Walton County citizen trying to understand why and how the local firefighter's endorsement for candidates of some very important elections was ascertained and whether it was applied equally to ALL candidates on just certain ones. If my requests, posts, or thoughts are out of line with your position, I'm sorry but so be it.

Mr. Oklahoma:

The "ascertained" candidate supported by the Union is the business of the Union. Equal application to any/all candidate is a mute point. The Union is answers to itself, not the public. The Union is there to protect its members from Incompetence that exists in other departments like, the Sheriff's Office (PBA/FOP).

I am not saying that the FD Union feels that way, just making the very real comparison. If our officers were rep'd by a Union they'd tell you straight out how it is there (it sucks by the way). I am not suggesting they/we unionize either, just stating opinion.

b seeing u.

Mr. Oklahoma:

The "ascertained" candidate supported by the Union is the business of the Union. Equal application to any/all candidate is a mute point. The Union is answers to itself, not the public. The Union is there to protect its members from Incompetence that exists in other departments like, the Sheriff's Office (PBA/FOP).

I am not saying that the FD Union feels that way, just making the very real comparison. If our officers were rep'd by a Union they'd tell you straight out how it is there (it sucks by the way). I am not suggesting they/we unionize either, just stating opinion.

b seeing u.

Who are you supporting for office?

???

Who are you supporting for office?

Still deciding on a Candidate. I can tell you that I am NOT going to vote for the current Sheriff. Bet that was a shock...

I continue to watch this thread with interest....

I can only conclude that this whole conflagration (how you like that metaphor?) is due to the fact that some are simply unhappy their candidate did not secure the endorsement of the Firefighters' Association. Just that simple.

I don't agree with all of the firefighters' choices, but some of the commentors on the endorsements have simply jumped the tracks. All I can say is that they must find the endorsement very important.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Doesn't sound like a bad group of guys to have supporting you, though.

'Nuff Said

I can only conclude that this whole conflagration (how you like that metaphor?) is due to the fact that some are simply unhappy their candidate did not secure the endorsement of the Firefighters' Association. Just that simple.

I don't agree with all of the firefighters' choices, but some of the commentors on the endorsements have simply jumped the tracks. All I can say is that they must find the endorsement very important.

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Doesn't sound like a bad group of guys to have supporting you, though.

Great Summary and observation. Can we end this round a 'bout and move on the the real issues of the campaign?

w