An airline pilot and a former commissioner hope to unseat longtime incumbents on the tumultuous East Lake Fire Commission.
By NORA KOCH
Published October 26, 2004
EAST LAKE - Two seats are up for grabs next week on the East Lake Fire Commission, a board riddled with controversy this year.
Incumbents Jim Galloway and Jim Nobles will try to defend the seats they both have held since the 1990s. They are challenged by former commissioner Chuck Schult and newcomer Mark Weinkrantz.
This year Galloway, Nobles and other commissioners approved a $4-million department budget and started negotiating a new union contract. The board also voted to fire the chief in May and then re-hire him in September.
Finally, two commissioners have resigned in recent months. Dan Bobel stepped down after he moved out of the district. Nobles resigned in the wake of a complaint that he tried to intimidate employees who contributed to his opponent. State elections officials have since concluded that the complaint doesn't meet their standards for an investigation.
During this period, Weinkrantz and Schult have watched many of the board's monthly meetings and workshops from the audience.
Next week, 22,177 voters will have the opportunity to decide who will fill the two seats and carry on the board's work. The winners will join longtime commissioner Chuck Dedman, Tom McKone, who was appointed in August to fill Bobel's vacancy, and Wilbur Cannon, who automatically was reinstated when no one filed to run against him.
Weinkrantz decided to run in the nonpartisan election after meeting some East Lake firefighters at the gym, he said. They talked about the need for more community involvement in the district, and Weinkrantz started attending meetings.
The airline pilot was soon inspired to be a part of the board.
"Something needed to be done," he said. He said he was troubled by the adversarial tone that he saw at board meetings and its effect on the department.
"The commission has been not clear in their direction," Weinkrantz said. "Once a direction is set, everything else will fall into place."
Schult said if elected, he would boost communication among the board, firefighters and the public. And, he said, he would work to heal a department that has been injured by recent events.
"I hope to get the morale of the department back up to where it belongs after a do-nothing board that kept secrets," Schult said.
In May, Galloway, Nobles and Chuck Dedman voted not to renew the contract of Chief Jeffrey Parks, a 20-year department veteran. Other commissioners and some members of the public criticized their vote, alleging they terminated him because Parks refused to fire a firefighter who offended them at a meeting. The three board members cited performance issues with Parks.
Last month the three board members reversed their stance and agreed to offer Parks a contract that lasts until June 2005.
Even this election has been marred by controversy.
Nobles resigned this month after he was criticized for singling out four employees in a memo faxed to the department's headquarters. Nobles sent Weinkrantz's donor list with the names of four nonunion employees underlined.
Weinkrantz alleged Nobles violated state election laws by trying to intimidate employees and filed a formal complaint with the Florida Elections Commission. The commission declared the complaint legally insufficient and decided not to review the case.
"His allegation was totally unfounded to start with and he did it strictly for political purposes," said Nobles, who has denied that he intended to intimidate anyone and apologized to the employees.
Nobles believes he's the right pick over Weinkrantz, who is endorsed by the firefighters union, because he will be representing the taxpayers, not the union.
"I've got a lot of experience on that fire board and I've got a lot of friends in the East Lake district and I feel like it's my obligation to look after their money," he said.
Galloway readily acknowledges the department has recently been in "turmoil" but says during his term, the board has been productive, purchasing new fire trucks and upgrading equipment.
He wants to stay with the department to keep momentum going.
"It's beginning to come around a little, but I think we've got a long way to go in terms of accountability to serve the public so they are satisfied with service of the new fire district," Galloway said. "It's tough job and it's not one that you can become a popular guy at."
