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How Fire Departments Can Influence State & Local Politics
How Fire Departments Can Influence State & Local Politics
By James L. Cubbage Jr.
During one of the Annual Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) dinners in Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. (then the junior Senator from Delaware)—or as we call him, Joe—made the following statement: “There are three political parties in Delaware: the Republicans, the Democrats and the Fire Service, but not necessarily in that order of importance.”
Biden’s profound statement about the Delaware Fire Service not only has been a compliment, but a curse and a challenge. It was a compliment to the hard work and foresight of our previous leaders, who forged a political agenda and had the tenacity to follow through with their ideas. Unfortunately, it has also been a curse, because many of our fire companies and individuals don’t think they need to take any political action—all they have to do is ask for something, and the Delaware General Assembly will grant their wish, because we are the fire service.
And now, the challenge in these difficult financial times is for the Delaware fire service to demonstrate their unity, renewed strength and commitment to a political agenda.
Influencing State Politics
The Delaware General Assembly is a bicameral legislature that consists of two houses, the State Senate with 21 members and the State House of Representatives with 41 members. The 146th General Assembly will convene in January 2011 for its first session, which will last from January to June 30 for a maximum of 45 days. The General Assembly consists of citizen legislators; they include teachers, business persons, retired police officers, insurance agents, a grocery store owner, farmers, lawyers, a doctor, union members and everyday citizens.
The Delaware Fire Service is fortunate to have six active members of the fire service—three of which are past fire chiefs—serving in the General Assembly, five in the House and one in the Senate.
But the fire service’s influence on politics goes beyond having firefighters serve as elected leaders, and that’s where the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (DVFA) comes in Some may say, “Hey, we’re firefighters, not politicians.” True but politics isn’t a dirty word, it’s a process that firefighters must understand and embrace if the fire service as we know it today is to survive. During these difficult financial times, every special interest group is working hard to garner support for their issues, and so must the fire service.
Note: Firefighters must be political without being partisan. The DVFA does NOT endorse candidates for elected office. Fire service organizations must carefully weigh supporting one candidate over another. This is a very slippery slope that can cause difficulty if an endorsed candidate loses. As a citizen you have the right to support whoever you may choose in an election. We ask our members to support candidates that are favorable to our issues.
The DVFA’s Role
The DVFA has a Legislative Committee and a Governmental Affairs Committee to review and coordinate legislation, as well as a full-time Executive Secretary, who serves as the lobbyist. Any legislative suggestion from the companies must come through the DVFA Legislative Committee for support.
The DVFA President and the Executive Secretary are the spokespersons for all issues in the General Assembly. They track the legislation, arrange for testimony on specific legislation and garner support for bills the DVFA is working on—and most importantly, coordinate grassroots support when lobbying is needed.
The DVFA makes an effort to have someone in Legislative Hall each day the General Assembly is in session and to have someone at committee hearings on days they’re not in session. This serves a two-fold purpose: First, to let the legislators know firefighters are interested, and second, to keep our members informed as to the potential actions that could take place with the passage or failure of certain legislation.
Often after a hearing, a legislator asks, “What is the fire service’s position on this bill?” The DVFA has built a solid reputation as the voice of the fire service in the Delaware General Assembly. Although the DVFA acts as the fire service spokesperson, however, nothing is more important to an elected official than hearing from one of their constituents, a potential voter in the next election cycle.
A Local Focus
The late Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, famously said, “All politics is local.” This is the basic principal of the Delaware Fire Service’s involvement in politics.
Legislators are community members too; they go to church, shop and live in their districts. It’s the responsibility of each fire company to find members who personally know the legislator or make it a priority to meet them. This can be done in many ways. Invite your legislator to activities at your station, such as training nights to see and learn what you do, award banquets where members are honored for service, company picnics or social events where legislators can meet and greet members, and company fundraisers so they can see how much it costs to run the department. Make these events an informational forum for the legislator; let them know what you do, how much time you spend and the cost savings that your company provides. Give them time to ask questions, and respond honestly and factually. If you don’t know an answer, advise them that you will find out and get back to them.
After their visit, call or email to thank them, and provide them with an open invitation to return. Between face-to-face meetings, keep them informed of potential issues facing the fire service.
An elected official may say, “You’re not seeing the big picture in these difficult financial times.” That’s an opportunity to advise them how funding and other issues affect the operations of your fire company in the district they represent. It’s the citizens that you serve, and the legislator represents, that will be affected by their vote or position on an issue. Demonstrate how their vote will impact the district they represent.
The DVFA tracks each fire company’s contact with elected officials. If an issue is to come before the General Assembly needing fire company support, the DVFA sends out an email asking the fire company to reach out to their legislator, informing them of our position. In some cases the DVFA sends out blast emails requesting contact with the sponsor of the legislation and the local legislator to inform them how the fire company will be impacted by the legislation. We also distribute talking points on the issue with the email to make certain everyone is sharing the same information.
Get Out the Vote
When it comes to election time, the fire service is a potentially large voting bloc, especially when you consider firefighters’ extended families. For too many years, however, firefighters haven’t stood up and said, “We are the fire service, and we VOTE!”
Departments across the nation can increase firefighter voter turnout. Arrange for voter registration to take place at fire company training or meetings so members and their families can sign up. After your members are registered, make sure they actually vote! Ask your members to wear their fire company jackets, hats, job shirts, etc., when they go to the polls. Let the public and the candidates see that firefighters do vote. Members should be consistent by voting in all elections—national, statewide, municipal, school board and local referendums.
Many and varied issues face the fire service today and in the future. That’s why it’s imperative for the fire service to become political, to put forth an agenda and fight for its passage.
Working as a unified fire service and treating elected and appointed officials as valued partners, the Delaware Fire Service has been successful in influencing state and local politics for almost 80 years. Our approach isn’t complicated and can be easily adopted in any state of municipality. If you’d like more information on how you can develop a similar relationship with your state’s politicians, please contact me at jlc4515@msn.com.
James L. Cubbage Jr. has been a member of the Clayton (Del.) Fire Co. No. 1 for more than 45 years, serving part of that time as fire chief and president. He holds Life Member and Chief Emeritus status with the company. Cubbage worked for 30 years for the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office, during which time he served as the agency's Governmental Affairs Officer, their liaison to the General Assembly. From 2002 to 2010, he worked for the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association as Executive Secretary.
Copyright © Elsevier Inc., a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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By James L. Cubbage Jr.
During one of the Annual Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) dinners in Washington, D.C., in the early 1990s, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. (then the junior Senator from Delaware)—or as we call him, Joe—made the following statement: “There are three political parties in Delaware: the Republicans, the Democrats and the Fire Service, but not necessarily in that order of importance.”
Biden’s profound statement about the Delaware Fire Service not only has been a compliment, but a curse and a challenge. It was a compliment to the hard work and foresight of our previous leaders, who forged a political agenda and had the tenacity to follow through with their ideas. Unfortunately, it has also been a curse, because many of our fire companies and individuals don’t think they need to take any political action—all they have to do is ask for something, and the Delaware General Assembly will grant their wish, because we are the fire service.
And now, the challenge in these difficult financial times is for the Delaware fire service to demonstrate their unity, renewed strength and commitment to a political agenda.
Delaware Fire Service Facts
The Delaware Fire Service is made up of 61 fire companies, 60 volunteer and one career department, the City of Wilmington Fire Department—22 companies in New Castle County, 18 companies in Kent County and 21 companies in Sussex County. They are all member companies of the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (DVFA), which represent the interests of the approximately 6,000 firefighters in Delaware.
The Delaware General Assembly is a bicameral legislature that consists of two houses, the State Senate with 21 members and the State House of Representatives with 41 members. The 146th General Assembly will convene in January 2011 for its first session, which will last from January to June 30 for a maximum of 45 days. The General Assembly consists of citizen legislators; they include teachers, business persons, retired police officers, insurance agents, a grocery store owner, farmers, lawyers, a doctor, union members and everyday citizens.
The Delaware Fire Service is fortunate to have six active members of the fire service—three of which are past fire chiefs—serving in the General Assembly, five in the House and one in the Senate.
But the fire service’s influence on politics goes beyond having firefighters serve as elected leaders, and that’s where the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (DVFA) comes in Some may say, “Hey, we’re firefighters, not politicians.” True but politics isn’t a dirty word, it’s a process that firefighters must understand and embrace if the fire service as we know it today is to survive. During these difficult financial times, every special interest group is working hard to garner support for their issues, and so must the fire service.
Note: Firefighters must be political without being partisan. The DVFA does NOT endorse candidates for elected office. Fire service organizations must carefully weigh supporting one candidate over another. This is a very slippery slope that can cause difficulty if an endorsed candidate loses. As a citizen you have the right to support whoever you may choose in an election. We ask our members to support candidates that are favorable to our issues.
The DVFA’s Role
The DVFA has a Legislative Committee and a Governmental Affairs Committee to review and coordinate legislation, as well as a full-time Executive Secretary, who serves as the lobbyist. Any legislative suggestion from the companies must come through the DVFA Legislative Committee for support.
The DVFA President and the Executive Secretary are the spokespersons for all issues in the General Assembly. They track the legislation, arrange for testimony on specific legislation and garner support for bills the DVFA is working on—and most importantly, coordinate grassroots support when lobbying is needed.
The DVFA makes an effort to have someone in Legislative Hall each day the General Assembly is in session and to have someone at committee hearings on days they’re not in session. This serves a two-fold purpose: First, to let the legislators know firefighters are interested, and second, to keep our members informed as to the potential actions that could take place with the passage or failure of certain legislation.
Often after a hearing, a legislator asks, “What is the fire service’s position on this bill?” The DVFA has built a solid reputation as the voice of the fire service in the Delaware General Assembly. Although the DVFA acts as the fire service spokesperson, however, nothing is more important to an elected official than hearing from one of their constituents, a potential voter in the next election cycle.
A Local Focus
The late Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, famously said, “All politics is local.” This is the basic principal of the Delaware Fire Service’s involvement in politics.
Legislators are community members too; they go to church, shop and live in their districts. It’s the responsibility of each fire company to find members who personally know the legislator or make it a priority to meet them. This can be done in many ways. Invite your legislator to activities at your station, such as training nights to see and learn what you do, award banquets where members are honored for service, company picnics or social events where legislators can meet and greet members, and company fundraisers so they can see how much it costs to run the department. Make these events an informational forum for the legislator; let them know what you do, how much time you spend and the cost savings that your company provides. Give them time to ask questions, and respond honestly and factually. If you don’t know an answer, advise them that you will find out and get back to them.
After their visit, call or email to thank them, and provide them with an open invitation to return. Between face-to-face meetings, keep them informed of potential issues facing the fire service.
An elected official may say, “You’re not seeing the big picture in these difficult financial times.” That’s an opportunity to advise them how funding and other issues affect the operations of your fire company in the district they represent. It’s the citizens that you serve, and the legislator represents, that will be affected by their vote or position on an issue. Demonstrate how their vote will impact the district they represent.
The DVFA tracks each fire company’s contact with elected officials. If an issue is to come before the General Assembly needing fire company support, the DVFA sends out an email asking the fire company to reach out to their legislator, informing them of our position. In some cases the DVFA sends out blast emails requesting contact with the sponsor of the legislation and the local legislator to inform them how the fire company will be impacted by the legislation. We also distribute talking points on the issue with the email to make certain everyone is sharing the same information.
Get Out the Vote
When it comes to election time, the fire service is a potentially large voting bloc, especially when you consider firefighters’ extended families. For too many years, however, firefighters haven’t stood up and said, “We are the fire service, and we VOTE!”
Departments across the nation can increase firefighter voter turnout. Arrange for voter registration to take place at fire company training or meetings so members and their families can sign up. After your members are registered, make sure they actually vote! Ask your members to wear their fire company jackets, hats, job shirts, etc., when they go to the polls. Let the public and the candidates see that firefighters do vote. Members should be consistent by voting in all elections—national, statewide, municipal, school board and local referendums.
Many and varied issues face the fire service today and in the future. That’s why it’s imperative for the fire service to become political, to put forth an agenda and fight for its passage.
Working as a unified fire service and treating elected and appointed officials as valued partners, the Delaware Fire Service has been successful in influencing state and local politics for almost 80 years. Our approach isn’t complicated and can be easily adopted in any state of municipality. If you’d like more information on how you can develop a similar relationship with your state’s politicians, please contact me at jlc4515@msn.com.
James L. Cubbage Jr. has been a member of the Clayton (Del.) Fire Co. No. 1 for more than 45 years, serving part of that time as fire chief and president. He holds Life Member and Chief Emeritus status with the company. Cubbage worked for 30 years for the Delaware State Fire Marshal’s Office, during which time he served as the agency's Governmental Affairs Officer, their liaison to the General Assembly. From 2002 to 2010, he worked for the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association as Executive Secretary.
Copyright © Elsevier Inc., a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
SUBSCRIBE to <a href="https://www.pubservice.com/Subnew.aspx?PC=FR&PK=" target="_blank">FIRERESCUE</a>
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