Incumbent Mayor Eddie Sundquist is pictured here accepting an endorsement from members of the local Jamestown Fire Department’s union members Wednesday. Submitted photo

Union members of the Jamestown Fire Department officially threw their support behind incumbent Mayor Eddie Sundquist during a live-streamed press conference Wednesday.

Members of The Jamestown Professional Firefighters Local 137 Union backed his re-election bid and cited several key items in their decision to support the mayor.

“He pursued and secured nearly $2 million in funding for enhanced public safety and tools. He brought much needed technology upgrades to the Fire Department, which enabled EMS billing, and more efficient documentation and reporting,” said Local 137 President Ben McLaughlin. “Under his administration, we’re now bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year that will be reinvested into the Fire Department for a safer Jamestown. Mayor Sundquist has secured an additional ambulance to meet the growing demand and he understands that means more personnel.”

Sundquist echoed some of these statements and added a few of his own to round out the laurels for this endorsement.

“Now, I could go through all the work we’ve done to modernize the Fire Department, including implementing EMS billing, which can sustain higher levels of fire staffing, new equipment, investments in our fire stations to update them and keep them in rotation; new fire reporting software, and a renewed focus on training so our firefighters have the expertise and the tools to keep our community safe,” alluded Sundquist.

“I’m proud to say under my administration that we’ve settled nine year’s worth of contracts, secured fair wage increases for our firefighters and began the work of a more collaborative relationship.”

But a point of contention was created with some City Council members by a statement Sundquist made. “We had a problem,” he said. “When we were on a verge of a City Council voting to send that money back to D.C., with a note saying … ‘We don’t deserve a safer Jamestown.’ You (firefighters) went to your neighbors. You all went and rallied the citizens of Jamestown to the cause.”

The “money” Sundquist is referring to is the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response — SAFER — grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is valued at nearly $2 million.

However, some council members say this simply isn’t the case, and Sundquist’s comments are not entirely accurate.

“I’m disappointed in the mayor’s statement,” said Council President Anthony Dolce, who represents Ward 2. “We did our due diligence and protected the city from possible litigation and arbitration down the road when this grant runs out, is not renewed or we can’t find a way to fund these new positions. The city has been affected for years with impact arbitration regarding staffing levels. Never, at any point did we say we didn’t want this grant or that we didn’t want a safer Jamestown. The entire City Council supports and appreciates the efforts of all our public safety officials. The City Council made it clear that they were committed to working with the administration to do what they can to ensure the city can sustain the grant and keep the manpower if possible.”

Dolce, who has served on the council for more than two decades, remembers some rough years.

“I’m the only member of City Council that remembers the days of having to lay off police officers and firefighters,” he said. “It’s not a lot of fun, and not only does that affect the individual family members of the laid-off officer and firefighters, but it places the entire city at-risk.”

Republican mayoral candidate and City Council member Kim Ecklund issued a statement in response to the firefighter union endorsement. “While I support the Jamestown Firefighters Local 137 ability to endorse, I am disappointed to learn that the mayor asked for the endorsement at this time,” said the at-large councilwoman. “The duties of the mayor will require the position to be closely involved with contract negotiations as well as personnel and potential disciplinary issues so therefore I will not seek the endorsement of any union body to avoid a potential conflict.

“As your mayor, you can rest assured that I will choose to be independent of these conflicts of interest and continue to represent the residents and taxpayers of this community. I do not want an appearance of impropriety or an issue with the work that all union employees of our city do daily. Make no mistake, I will work with all labor unions to move Jamestown forward.”