3RD DISTRICT REPORT | JAIR JUAREZ
Former Local 3399 President Moves from Fire Station to Board of Supervisors
Nearly four decades ago, a firefighter and IAFF local president was elected to a full term on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors. That firefighter: CPF President Emeritus Dan Terry.
This year, Buck Condit joined that roll of honor. Condit — former president of Stanislaus Consolidated Firefighters Local 3399 — beat out a competitive three-man field to win the open District 1 on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.
“Our special districts, fire service and public safety needed an advocate,” Condit said. “I felt like I had a lot more to give, rather than just retiring and walking off into the sunset.”
A 33-year firefighting veteran, Condit spent almost his entire career working in the largely rural district. During his time with Local 3399, he served in nearly every capacity with the leadership, including six years as president. After his election, he retired from Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District.
The election capped more than a year of campaigning, much of which took place before the March primary election — just before the COVID-19 pandemic curtailed in-person campaigning. By that time, he had already done plenty of “shoe-leather” campaigning, having walked nearly every corner of the district.
“Being a firefighter there for all of those years, I have a good grasp of the issues,” said Condit. “I was going door-to-door talking with voters, and I had plenty of people who just said ‘you don’t have to say another word - you’re the first candidate that ever took the time to talk to us.”
Condit won the hard-fought election with help from the united support of all CPF and IAFF locals in the region — most notably, his home local. Modesto Firefighters Local 1289 was among those locals stepping out in support of their brother firefighter — especially notable since one of his rivals was a Modesto council member who’d supported the local.
“All of the professional firefighters in Stanislaus County did joint political activities and we all got on the same page as far as endorsements," said Stanislaus Consolidated Local 3399 President Shawn Ehrenberg. “The unity in our voice definitely helped our position.”
Ehrenberg says the locals provided financial support — nearly 30% of Local 3399’s PAC budget was devoted to Condit’s race — as well as setting up meetings within some communities. CPF and IAFF provided additional financial support — available to firefighters who run for office — and Condit also got contributions from other locals, including Sacramento Area Firefighters Local 522. CAL FIRE Local 2881 also financed an independent expenditure that benefitted Condit.
“If I hadn’t gotten the firefighter support, the road would have ended for me right there,” said Condit. “They came through for me in every instance.”
Since Stanislaus Consolidated Fire District is an independent special district, Supervisor Condit doesn’t have a vote on the fire district board. Still, Ehrenberg says his presence on the Board of Supervisors will be hugely important. Condit has vowed to work toward a goal he long pushed for as local president — securing a share of tax revenue from 1993’s Proposition 172 for the fire service.
“For a long time, the supervisors have sort of treated fire as ‘second responders,’” said Ehrenberg. “Buck’s goal is to change that, and having a direct connection with somebody who has that tie to the fire service will be huge.”
Seaside Firefighters Local 1218
Affiliates with CPF
The city of Seaside along California’s Central Coast gets its money’s worth — and a whole lot more — from the members of Seaside Firefighters Local 1218.
Located just to the north of Monterey, Local 1218’s 21 members serve a community of nearly 35,000 people across 10 square miles, an area that includes a portion of the former Fort Ord military base. Running close to 3,000 calls a year, the service area of the Seaside Fire Department is actually larger in size and population than its better known neighbor.
“We’re covering a larger chunk of real estate with more people (than Monterey) with one station and two apparatus,” said Seaside Firefighters Local 1218 President Chris Marsiguerra. “By comparison, Monterey has three stations and four engines staffed with three on an engine.”
Despite its comparatively small size and comparatively high workload, Local 1218’s members are able to give back to the community they serve. As part of the vaccination rollout, Local 1218 members were part of three community vaccination outreach efforts, including a day-long clinic near Fort Ord targeting the homeless. The local has also long been involved with food distribution to underserved members of the community — a task that has become all the more critical during the pandemic.
“When we have the bandwidth, our members will help with meals on wheels for the elderly and weekend food distributions at a local community center,” said Marsiguerra. “We try to be as helpful as possible to the community.”
The city’s new fire chief — Mary Gutierrez — is a former member of San Jose Firefighters Local 230. Marsiguerra says the local has a good working relationship with their new chief as well as with city management and the council. That cooperation is a contrast from several years ago, when Local 1218 was forced to push back against a scheme to contract out their fire protection. “It’s been rocky in the past, but now we have a good relationship with council,” said Marsiguerra.
Those good relationships will be helpful as Local 1218 continues its push to increase the number of fire stations in their community. Marsiguerra says there are early-stage talks between his city and the city of Marina to the north about staffing a joint fire station. While the loss of transient occupancy tax (TOT) revenue because of the pandemic has hurt, the need there and the local is optimistic.
As a small local with a three-member executive board, Marsiguerra says he is already seeing the benefits of their new affiliation with California Professional Firefighters. “We had previously been affiliated with CSFA, but CPF is geared around professional firefighters, and that’s what our members wanted,” he said. “We’ve already gotten a lot of help. CPF is pro-active and that’s what fits with our needs.”