Firefighter union leader wins House seat as voters back fire measures

WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania firefighter union leader won a seat in Congress and voters in several cities approved firefighter-backed funding and bargaining measures in Tuesday’s midterm elections, according to the International Association of Fire Fighters.

The IAFF, the labor union representing professional firefighters and emergency medical workers in the United States and Canada, said Nov. 6 that dozens of candidates it endorsed won federal, state and local races, with financial and strategic support from the union and its political action committee, FIREPAC.

The union said Bob Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, defeated incumbent Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District with 55% of the vote. The IAFF said Brooks is the first of its state leaders elected to federal office in the U.S.

“For 20 years, I ran into burning buildings without ever asking who somebody voted for,” Brooks said, according to the union. “If you voted for me, I now work for you.”

In Maine, Mike Scott, president of Professional Fire Fighters of Maine, was elected to represent the state’s 20th Senate District, the IAFF said.

The union also highlighted ballot measures. It said voters in Abilene, Texas, approved collective bargaining for firefighters, and Boulder, Colorado, voters added firefighter bargaining rights to the city charter.

In Los Angeles, where votes were still being counted, the union said results indicate voters approved Measure FD, which it said would provide hundreds of millions of dollars in new annual funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The IAFF said the local union collected more than 250,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot and that the department’s staffing has been flat for more than 60 years.

In Miami, 60% of voters backed a bond measure, Referendum One, to build four new fire stations and improve facilities, according to the union.

“When fire fighters get involved in the political conversation, voters listen,” IAFF General President Edward Kelly said.

The union also cited results involving locals in Waterford Township, Michigan; West Metro, Colorado; Wausau, Wisconsin; and Jackson County, Missouri.

This report is based on information from the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Source: International Association of Fire Fighters