Firefighters? Anyone?

[SoWalProfire]

It's not that we don't care about the Citizens north of the bay. We do. But, we have a vested interest in the Citizens of South Walton County because these are the people who graciously allow us to serve and protect them. And again, if you don't see the public benefits in the questions we ask of our candidates, there is something else in you way. And as far as your vote counts, if you would let the opinion of someone you think as little of as you obviously think of me, change who you vote for, one has to wonder about the soundness of your selection process in the first place. My guess is that you and I would never have been engaged on this thread if all our choices matched yours. Good day to you, Sir.

 

[Andy A]

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.

 

[Bob Wells]

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.

 

[Dennis Wise]

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

 

[Smiling JOe]

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?

 

[Smiling JOe]

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.

 

[Dennis Wise]

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

 

[Smiling JOe]

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.

 

[Bob Wells]

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.

 

[idlewind]

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: