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8 fire board hopefuls hold contrasting views

LEALMAN - With three of the five seats on the Lealman Fire Commission up for grabs, voters have a chance to completely change the board's direction.

That's what most of the challengers are promising, from working more closely with community groups to greater advocacy in issues of annexation and fire hydrants.

The three incumbents see the building of a new fire station as the most important issue currently facing the district. Then they differ. Two are pleased with the proposed design. The third thinks the design could be more cost effective and safer during hurricanes. Here are the candidates and their thoughts:

Incumbent Linda Campbell is the sole member of the current board from the western portion of the Lealman Fire District. That's the side west of Kenneth City and east of Park Street between Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg.

Campbell, a self-employed certified mortgage loan process and closing agent, touts her background in business and finance as a plus for serving on the commission. Not only does she believe the new fire station needs to be built, Campbell said she believes the district should eventually have three stations instead of the two that now serve the area.

First-time challenger William Kent Litton is the brother-in-law of former Lealman fire board member Kathleen Litton. Litton, who also lives in west Lealman, said he decided to run after he heard Campbell had decided not to run for re-election. When she changed her mind, he decided to stay in the race even though Litton said he believes she's doing a "fine job."

"If I lose, I hope Linda gets it," Litton said. Despite that, Litton said he's out to win the race. People should not remain in office forever, he said, so that new people have a chance.

Like the incumbents, Litton has said the new fire station is the most important issue facing the board. But members have not handled it correctly, Litton has said.

Bob Shaffer is another newcomer who's running after regularly attending fire board meetings for about a year and a half.

Commission members need to be more open to the community and to new ideas, he said.

Political newbie Julie A. Adams also regularly attended fire commission meetings for more than a year before deciding to run. The repeated spats among members helped prompt her candidacy.

Adams said she is concerned that Lealman residents pay a 25 percent surcharge on water bills to St. Petersburg, which supplies drinking water but not an adequate number of hydrants to Lealman. She also questioned the projected high cost of the new fire station.

"I believe there needs to be change on the board for us to move forward in a positive direction," Adams said.

Mike Brophy, the current commission chair, defends the board, saying the group is open to community members and has actively sought hydrants and annexation limits.

Brophy criticized candidates who run for fire board without knowing the issues.

"I think that the best way for candidates to learn what the department actually does is to attend the meetings and find out what's going on instead of blindly making accusations," Brophy said.

Incumbent W.A. Adams (no relation to Julie A. Adams) sees his job as holding the line against fiscal irresponsibility.

He has repeatedly urged the other commission members to reconsider the design of the new station. W.A. Adams, a semiretired commercial general contractor, wants to see the roof and structure made of steel with a brick veneer. The plan the commission passed has a wooden frame and shingle roof.

That stance has drawn the ire of other commission members and, Thursday, came under fire from Vivian Diane Campbell, one of his opponents. She is no relation to Linda Campbell.

"I picked that (seat) because I feel like the commissioner in there is incompetent," said Vivian Diane Campbell, who is a first-time candidate.

His constant questions and requests that the architect consider his ideas have "pushed the price of the building high," she said. "It's just been one delay after another. . . . I don't know what I'm walking into, but I'm ready for the job."

W.A. Adams denied causing construction delays, saying most of the delays have been caused by outside problems.

The other candidate in the race is Marion Boyle, a political newcomer from west Lealman. Boyle, who is president of her building homeowner's association in the Five Towns condominium complex, said she's been to a couple of commission meetings. Those were enough to highlight the bad relations between members. "If I helped bring my building together, then I can certainly bring this community together," Boyle said.

The Lealman Special Fire Control district covers about 8 square miles of unincorporated Pinellas County. The district stretches between Pinellas Park and St. Petersburg from just east of Interstate 275 to Park Street on both sides of Kenneth City. Fire commissioners oversee the Lealman Fire Department, which delivers fire and emergency medical services to the area's approximately 42,400 residents. The district also contracts with Kenneth City to provide services to that town's approximately 4,500 residents. Fire commissioners have to attend at least one meeting and one workshop a month as well as two budget meetings every year. Some of those budget sessions may coincide with regular meetings. Commissioners are also responsible for the district's overall $5-million budget and 50 employees. Commissioners serve four-year terms. They receive $500 per month salary and a badge. They run districtwide for numbered seats.