Firefighters union endorses Beutler
By DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star
The Lincoln firefighters union has endorsed Chris Beutler to be Lincoln’s next mayor.
The Lincoln Firefighters Association — which represents about 300 firefighters, drivers, inspectors and mechanics – based its endorsement on firefighting issues only. Among them: preserving fast response times and demonstrating a thorough understanding of fire department operations.
“You have to have done your homework when you talk with our members,” LFA president Dave Engler said.
He said it was a difficult decision for the union, which has endorsed the two leading mayoral candidates, Beutler for Legislature and Ken Svoboda for council, in the past.
The candidates filled out a questionnaire and then a six-member committee elected by union members interviewed the candidates before voting on endorsements.
The endorsement was expected to be tight, because Svoboda has established a good relationship with firefighters and the union. “Chris’ record of leadership and accomplishment are an indicator that he will be a strong leader for the fire department,” Engler said. “Ken was also very impressive and we appreciate a good working relationship with him; past, present and future.”
The union’s political action committee had some trouble deciding whom to endorse because both Beutler and Svoboda showed strong support for public safety, Engler said.
He said Beutler scored a little better than Svoboda on “predetermined criteria” and the committee decided not to depart from past practices by doing a dual endorsement.
“But we are also supportive of Ken’s run for mayor, too,” Engler said.
The union will donate money to both candidates.
Engler said the endorsement is mostly helpful to union members, of which there are about 285. Beutler estimated a third of them live outside the city limits, however, and can’t vote in the upcoming spring municipal election.
“I don’t believe our endorsement is any more important than any of the other city unions,” he said. “But it’s a good idea to have the city employees behind you.”
Former Mayor Don Wesely is sometimes portrayed as having been carried to the mayor’s office on the shoulders of firefighters in 1999. But Engler doubts a force of less than 285 has that kind of power.
“I just find it funny that everyone says, ’You guys got Don Wesely elected.’ Well, how many votes were cast?“
It’s true, firefighters were fired up after clashing with former Mayor Mike Johanns, and worked hard to help Wesely, campaigning door-to-door and making a hefty contribution to his campaign.
Wesely said the endorsement was “important but not controlling.”
Firefighters accounted for, at the very most, 250 of his 1,000 volunteers. And while their donation was sizeable, it still represented less than 10 percent of the total he raised.
“You can win without their endorsement but it sure helps to have their endorsement,” Wesely said.
While the union has its critics, Wesely thinks overall, Lincolnites respect the firefighters. The recent firetruck controversy had nothing to do with the rank-and-file firefighters and they should not be stained by it, he said.
Engler resents it when people imply that the union shouldn’t get involved in politics. Nobody complains about police union endorsements, or the fact that realtors and business groups get involved, he said.
“It’s important to us that we get people who understand fire department issues,” he said. “In America we ought to be encouraging everyone to get involved in politics and understand the issues and vote on elected officials.”
He said rumors that firefighters campaigned door-to-door for Wesely while working are false. It’s illegal to actively campaign while on duty.
“That’s really sour grapes,” he said. “People that were upset that we didn’t endorse their candidate put out rumors like that.”
Engler said he’s not trying to downplay the importance of the union’s endorsement, but “There’s this perception out there in the public that we have an army of people that just cover the city,” he said. “(We’re lucky) if we have five or six people willing to spend a couple hours (campaigning).“
Beutler also picked up an endorsement last week from the Public Association of Government Employees, formerly called NAGE, which represents nearly 500 blue-collar, technical and clerical city employees.
The firefighters’ union will announce its endorsements for the City Council later this week.