ELECTION 2020: WHY IT MATTERS
Brian K. Rice, CPF President
AT The BaLLOT BOX
In the coming weeks, firefighters will join voters throughout the state, to cast their ballots on races ranging from city council to propositions and President. These races matter because every decision that affects the jobs and livelihoods of firefighters is made by an elected official. Staffing, equipment, pay, retirement security, safety on the job … all rest in the hands of elected leaders at every level. We get a chance to help choose the people who will make those decisions through the ballot box. Simply put, to protect our members rights and livelihoods we must participate in elections.
California Professional Firefighters makes recommendations in all state contests – Assembly, Senate, state constitutional offices and state ballot measures. Our endorsement is based solely on where the candidates stand on the issues that matter to us. This means having candidates spell out their positions on public safety funding, retirement security, employee rights, training, disability and survivor benefits, as well as any other issue that impacts our lives on the job. If it doesn’t fall into one of those areas, it doesn’t factor into our recommendation process. CPF never has and never will make an recommendation based on social issues, it is strictly about our jobs.
When making recommendations in a race all credible candidates – Democrat and Republican – are invited to interview with CPF. In legislative races, CPF calls upon the local unions in that district to participate in these interviews together. Your local union has the most experience with the candidates, having worked with them in the past at the municipal or county level. That experience is foundational to all recommendation decisions made by CPF. In the following pages, you’ll find CPF’s list of recommended propositions and candidates for the November General Election, a list that includes both Democrats and Republicans.
Each of these candidates and propositions are recommendations, your union is not in the business of telling you how to vote. We are only fulfilling our responsibility to inform you about where candidates stand on the issues that most affect your job, your health and safety, your benefits, and your retirement. We hope this helps your overall information gathering when you make your choice at the ballot box. The candidates listed on these pages have supported and stood by firefighters when it has mattered most. Standing by them will continue to benefit our profession.