FIREFIGHTERS ENDORSE LOVE: Major city employee group supports Second Ward CoMo Council candidate

"A Councilman who works for all"

 

COLUMBIA, Mo 3/9/18 (Beat Byte) -- The Columbia Professional Firefighters Local 1055 which represents 119 Columbia firefighters, has endorsed Paul Love for the Second Ward Columbia City Council seat currently held by Mike Trapp.

The two candidates will face off in the April 3 election. 

"The Columbia Professional Firefighters (IAFF 1055) have faith that Paul Love will be the voice on the Council to restore trust and begin the process of moving this city forward," the endorsement explains.  

Mr. Trapp, on the other hand, "has not placed public safety at the top of his priority list," the IAFF 1055 endorsement said. "He has a proven voting record that does not place the concerns of the very people he swore to represent as the sole purpose for his decision making." 

Love met with the group and expressed support for national staffing standards; staffing benchmarks; essential services prioritization; and a "hard look at the current budget" rather than a rush to increase property taxes.  City leaders have ramped up their second big push for a new property tax to pay for public safety, while at the same time holding $320 million in cash accounts at the Swiss bank UBS. 

A scheduling conflict precluded Mr. Trapp's meeting with the group.  "I remain committed to using our donated land on Strawn Road for a new fire station, bringing all of Columbia to a four minute response time, and bolstering the downtown station staffing," Mr. Trapp emailed members of the IAFF1055 and the Heart Beat. "I appreciate the service of our professional firefighters." 

Nonetheless, Mr. Trapp's six year Council record swayed the firefighters union to urge a vote for his opponent.

"Paul Love has made it his goal to restore faith in city government, and to prioritize city finances to best serve all Columbians," their endorsement explains.  "The taxpayers of the City of Columbia deserve a Councilman who works for all of them."

Paul Love on Facebook