WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania firefighter union leader unseated a sitting congressman in the Nov. 3 midterm elections, one of several wins the International Association of Fire Fighters is claiming for candidates and ballot measures it backed across the country.
The union, which represents firefighters and emergency medical workers in the United States and Canada, said Nov. 6 that voters elected dozens of firefighter-endorsed candidates to federal, state and local offices and approved local measures to increase fire department funding and staffing.
In Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, defeated Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie with 55% of the vote, according to the union. The IAFF said Brooks is the first of its state leaders to be elected to federal office in the United States.
“For 20 years, I ran into burning buildings without ever asking who somebody voted for,” Brooks said. “If you voted for me, I now work for you. If you voted for the other guy, I’m going to work just as hard for you. That is my promise.”
In Maine, Mike Scott, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Maine, won the state’s 20th Senate District seat, the union said.
“I promise to bring the same commitment to serving our communities that I brought to the fire service for 30 years,” Scott said in a post after Election Day.
The IAFF also pointed to local ballot results. Voters in Abilene, Texas, approved measures allowing firefighters to bargain collectively, clearing the way for Local 1044 to pursue its first contract, and Boulder, Colorado, voters added collective bargaining rights for firefighters to the city charter, according to the union.
In Los Angeles, where ballots were still being counted, early returns indicated voters approved Measure FD, which the union said would provide hundreds of millions of dollars a year to build fire stations, replace equipment and add staff. The firefighters’ local there gathered more than 250,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot, the IAFF said.
In Miami, 60% of voters backed a public safety bond to build four new fire stations and upgrade existing ones, according to the union. It said funding and staffing measures supported by locals in Waterford Township, Michigan; West Metro, Colorado; Wausau, Wisconsin; and Jackson County, Missouri, also passed.
“When fire fighters get involved in the political conversation, voters listen,” said IAFF General President Edward Kelly. “That’s why we get in the fight.”
The union and its political action committee, FIREPAC, provided money and strategic help to local affiliates during the campaign, the IAFF said.
This report is based on information from the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Source: International Association of Fire Fighters
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