It was unanimous. The Belleville Professional Firefighters Association recently held a meeting and held a secret ballot vote on who the Association should back for mayor in the October 24.
And, according to Association President Steve Morgan, the vote was unanimous in favour of incumbent Mitch Panciuk.
The Association also endorsed Panciuk in the 2018 municipal election.
At Panciuk’s campaign headquarters on North Front Street Saturday, Morgan said the Association’s leadership has had a good working relationship with the mayor, calling the discussions on fire services and labour contracts “open and honest.”
“We don’t agree on everything but the communication is there and the mayor never turns down a meeting with us. Our expertise as firefighters needs to be heard to create a safer community and that’s our goal and Mitch is open to dialogue anytime.”
Morgan said the relationships he and Association Vice-President Curtis Clarke, along with past leaders Jim Donovan and Rob Davenport, have had with the mayor have been good and they’d like to see that continue for another term.
“He was instrumental in recruiting Chief Monique Belair and we wholeheartedly support her and the leadership team she’s put in place.”
For his part, Panciuk welcomed the continued endorsement of the Association and said it was a huge indication of what the firefighters thought of not only him but of the entire council.
“I and the Association agree on the need to move soon on a new Fire Master Plan for the city. The last one was done in 2010 and it’s time to update it. Belleville has been, and will continue, to grow quickly and we need to know how to best provide emergency services for a growing population. We will need to provide facilities and hire firefighters and police officers and others to do the job properly. I’m proud to again have the endorsement of the Association.”
The Belleville Professional Firefighters Association has 62 members.
