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Union's choice a surprise
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer SPRING HILL -- For the better part of his four-year tenure, County Commissioner Chris Kingsley has allied himself closely with Spring Hill firefighters. Kingsley went to bat for them more than once when they wanted to conduct boot drive fundraisers on county streets. He quickly offered his support this spring when the firefighters called for their district's independence. He even counted firefighter union president John Ferriero among his personal friends. So imagine Kingsley's surprise when he learned Thursday that the Professional Firefighters of Spring Hill had endorsed Bob Kanner in the race for commission District 4. Kanner is in a three-way battle for the Republican nomination to challenge Kingsley, who faces no Democratic primary opposition. "Actually, Ferriero did promise to endorse me," Kingsley said. "It just makes me feel he can't be trusted. . . . I'm obviously disappointed that he would say that to me and then change his mind." Kingsley suggested that the union had traded its campaign support for Kanner's backing of the fire district's independence. Kanner, the chairman of the Spring Hill Fire Commission, initially was tepid on the independence issue, refusing to take a side and actually criticizing Kingsley for talking with the union leadership about it. But Kanner recently came out strongly for independence, arguing that it was more important than ever after the commission narrowly voted to take over service of the Township 22 Fire District. He quickly distributed the union's letter of support, which said in part, "feel free to use our name in any manner that you feel will assist you in achieving your goal." Kanner welcomed the union's support and said if Kingsley felt slighted, it hardly was his concern. "That's up to him and John Ferriero," Kanner said. "All I know is, I have a letter from John Ferriero saying I've been endorsed. Maybe Mr. Kingsley misunderstood." Kanner's primary opponents placed little credence in the endorsement. "I'm not surprised," candidate Paul Sullivan said. "Kanner has voted for raises for them the past eight years. The one who should be really upset should be Kingsley." Sullivan noted Kanner's flip-flop on the independence issue and said that he thought that fact would not be lost on the rank-and-file firefighters. "What individual firemen and their families do in the voting booth is entirely different than what the union PAC does," he said. "I'm going to leave it up to the voters of Hernando County to decide." Candidate Robert Schenck said he had not expected the union to endorse anyone with the independence question about to come to the voters. In any case, he said, its backing should matter little. "I'm still of the opinion that the common, everyday person in Hernando County wants somebody new," Schenck said. Ferriero could not be reached for comment. Kingsley said that, endorsement or no, he would continue to back the firefighters. "I'm not going to change my position on that," he said.
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From today's Hernando Times Letters |
