Politics and the Fire Service

[potstirrer95]

How do you people feel about Politics and the Fire Service. We have Chiefs that have put up political Campaign signs in the yards at their residences. For the opponent it's easy to see who they support( sign ) and who they are (Chief's buggy). It that Candidate wins, no problem, but if they lose, well it could cause a s__ storm in the future. What do you think.

[Bones42]

As a company/department, we endorse no one. We do this simply because we have to work with whoever wins and don't want any "bad blood". We stay neutral, we have no problems.

Members are free to endorse who they want.

[ChiefDog]

How do you people feel about Politics and the Fire Service. We have Chiefs that have put up political Campaign signs in the yards at their residences. For the opponent it's easy to see who they support( sign ) and who they are (Chief's buggy). It that Candidate wins, no problem, but if they lose, well it could cause a s__ storm in the future. What do you think.

Politics and the Fire Service will always be an issue because that is how we get money.

Telling people how to act politically off duty will create a different type of storm than what you refer to.

For local elections I personnally try to stay neutral, be polite to all but know who supports us and who doesn't. The politicians usually let the cat out of the bag on where they stand in regards to the Fire Department. For Statewide and National elections... those politicians aren't going to care.

Historically, people do not want to get too far out on the limb with regards to supporting volunteer organizations. It usually comes back to bite them. Not just the fire department.....

potstirrer95 ? ? What are you trying to say?

[bobsnyder]

Which candidates our members choose to support and how they support them on their own property should be up to them. My front yard is full of yard signs for the Democratic challengers for state and federal office right now, and the bumper of my truck is full of the corresponding stickers. That's one of my rights as an American and I certainly wouldn't want the fire company, or anybody else, trying to infringe upon that right.

Our fire company itself, as a 501(c)3 non-profit, cannot back any candidates (and that includes signs on the property, stickers on the apparatus, etc.), and I strictly enforce that rule.

I will say that I'm much more careful with local races, and I don't tend to take a public stand on them...although most local races really aren't important enough, or the candidates really different enough, for me to care who wins or loses.

[scfire86]

As ChiefDog pointed out, we work for politicians. Who are the duly elected representatives of the community we serve.

The fire service is intertwined with the political process.

[mvfd1a2]

In my case I need to support my mayoral candidate openly because that is the person that put me there. I will put her sign out in my yard, because she openly supported me by putting me in the Chief position.

[lvwrench]

The locals endorse candidates whom they feel will work for the best interests of the fire service and that is fine with me. What bothers me is the in-house politics that keeps things disrupted. There is the real fear factor.

[rudy08]

A new politically oriented fireblog (www.rudysfirefighters.com)

Hi;
I would like to invite those of you who are Rudy Giuliani supporters to come visit my new webblog (www.rudysfirefighters.com) dedicated to providing a forum to those firefighters throughout the country who, like me, support Rudy for his Presidential bid. I hope you'll visit and contribute your insights, comments and offer discussion on political topics. Also, if you have ideas for discussion topics centered on politics of the fire service I'd love to hear them. I can assure you, this site is neither endorsed or run by Rudy Giuliani or any organization affiliated with his campaign. I am simply a 12-year veteran of the fire service who happens to share the same views as Giuliani and wants to provide an outlet for like-minded firefighters to meet, discuss the topics and share in the brotherhood in a different venue. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Be Safe!
Steve Standridge

www.rudysfirefighters.com

[Driver76]

Local politics and the fire department can very often be a two edged sword: if you know how to work the system, it can be used to benefit the department ... or, quite often, it will come back to bite you in the ***
Twenty five years ago I became embroiled in a political squabble between my department, a nearby fire district, and the county fire administration. I became so fed up that I made the mistake of walking away from the fire service for the next 12 years ... THE BIGEST mistake I have ever made.
I learned from that mistake however and now I use the present political anvironment I am in to benefit our company and the department.