Two candidates for St. Johns County Commission stoked a fiery response from the union representing the county's firefighters after distributing a letter to firefighters aiming to undercut the union's endorsement of their incumbent competitors.
Earlier this week, the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce hosted one of two Meet the Candidates forums, where residents met incumbent county candidates and those running against them. Attendees also had the opportunity to participate in straw poll.
Ann Taylor, a Republican running for County Commission District 5, and Ann-Marie Evans, a Republican running for County Commission District 1, distributed a letter addressed to St. Johns County Firefighters, Paramedics and EMT professionals.
"Some time ago, your union leadership endorsed the incumbent commissioners (Christian Whitehurst, Henry Dean and Roy Alaimo). It appears that this decision was made by just leadership, not by you, the membership," the letter said. "We recognize that these endorsements and the pressure on you to campaign for the incumbent places you in an uncomfortable (and frankly unfair) position."
Parts of the letter took aim at comments reportedly made by David Stevens, president of the St. Johns County Professional Firefighters Association.
"You are being told that if the incumbents don't win everything could fall apart," the letter said. "Mr. Stephens' statements are ironic considering the field training facility you were expected to train at was literally falling apart. The fact that the county commissioners are just now working on a decent training facility and adding much needed stations is shameful."
In the letter, Taylor and Evans said "no property has been secured for this new training facility."
Stephens, writing to Taylor and Evans, called some of their claims "blatantly false."
"At our general meeting, a membership vote was taken to endorse the incumbent commissioners. It was unanimous. The board did not participate," Stephens wrote.
"I met with you, took you to stations, introduced you to our firefighters, and invited you to speak at our meetings," Stephens said in his letter. "I explained very clearly how our endorsements took place, so you are very aware it was not a board vote. Our membership voted on ALL endorsements."
Stephens said the candidates' comments on the funding and location of a new training facility were "particularly misleading."
"The incumbent commissioners went to Tallahassee to fight for funding for a training facility. I personally witnessed multiple meetings where they were advocating for our firefighters on many levels. They even voted for firefighter needs as legislative priorities," he said. "Telling our people that we don’t have a location to put the training facility is dishonest considering it has been discussed at length at the BOCC meetings and with our members.
Stephens said two the commission currently has two sites as options. Commissioners are considering which would be "the most cost-effective site," as well as the possible build time and the needs of the department.
"It appears you are trying to use scare tactics against our firefighters," he wrote.
In another part of letter, Taylor and Evans questioned contract negotiations.
"Why has your contract not been finalized?" the letter asked.
Stephens said that's because the county and the union "have not agreed to anything yet," and they're watching how other county contracts wrap up to glean more information on what's needed in St. Johns.
"Waiting to see Jacksonville firefighters’ contract would be beneficial," he wrote. "Knowing what is needed to remain competitive and not lose firefighters is critical. Again, this has all been communicated to our members and the public, so it should be common knowledge."
In their letter, Taylor and Evans pledged to "fight for and fund mental health resources" for the county's firefighters.
"I applaud your statement on the commitment to firefighter mental health," Stephens wrote. "We now have access to mental health care that most departments in the state do not have. We are lucky to have commissioners who continually ask what more can be done to improve our mental health program. Access to this mental health care has saved firefighter lives and we are grateful to our commissioners."
Stephens closed his letter by asking for a retraction of "all statements from social media, websites, advertisements, letters or any other locations that claim our membership did not vote on endorsements or any other statements known to be false."
"We encourage letters of substance and facts that clearly define what you will do for firefighters, how you can help, and your plan to accomplish it," he wrote. "As always, I am available for a call or meeting if you have questions or simply wish to have a productive conversation. I truly hope we can move forward in a more positive direction."
On Friday afternoon, Taylor and Evans denied posting the letter on social media. In a joint statement sent to The St. Augustine Record, they underscored that their letter was in reaction to insinuations that they would not fully support fire and rescue along with a text message that included the list of incumbent commissioners that encouraged firefighters to vote in the event's straw poll and leave.
Evans admitted to having a productive conversation with Stephens about the letter a day after the event.
Both asked that the County Commission publicly state that fire and rescue personnel are not expected to assist in campaigns.
"Again, we will always fight for our first responders and work hard to make sure they have what they need to get the job done for us, the people of St. Johns County," they said.
This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Johns County Commission candidates stoke fiery response from fire union president
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