Jamestown Professional Firefighter Local 137 union endorses Eddie Sundquist for re-election as Mayor of Jamestown (October 11, 2023)
The Jamestown Professional Firefighter‘s union has endorsed incumbent Democrat Eddie Sundquist for Mayor of Jamestown.
This is the first union endorsement of a mayoral candidate in the city in 20 years.
Local 137 President Ben McLaughlin stated that when Sundquist asked for the union’s endorsement, they overwhelming agreed due to Sundquist’s support of the fire department over the course of his first term, “During the Mayor’s first term, he pursued and secured nearly $2 million in funding for enhanced public safety and tools. He brought much needed technology upgrades to the Fire Department, which enabled EMS billing, and more efficient documentation and reporting. Under his administration, we’re now bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars each year that will be reinvested into the Fire Department for a safer Jamestown. Mayor Sundquist has secured an additional ambulance to meet the growing demand and he understands that means more personnel.”
McLaughlin also credited Sundquist with coming to a contract agreement with the union in February 2021 after they had been without one since 2015.
Sundquist stated at the endorsement event that he worked to build a more collaborative relationship with the Fire Department, “Now, I could go through all the work we’ve done to modernize the Fire Department, including implementing EMS billing, which can sustain higher levels of fire staffing, new equipment, investments in our fire stations to update them and keep them in rotation; new fire reporting software, and a renewed focus on training so our firefighters have the expertise and the tools to keep our community safe.”
Both the union and Sundquist trumpeted the success in the city receiving a $1.8 million grant from FEMA that is being used for the hiring of eight additional firefighters for the next three years.
Republican candidate for mayor and City Council member at Large Kim Ecklund issued a statement in response to the firefighter’s union endorsement saying, “While I support the Jamestown Firefighters Local 137 ability to endorse, I am disappointed to learn that the Mayor asked for the endorsement at this time. The duties of the mayor will require the position to be closely involved with contract negotiations as well as personnel and potential disciplinary issues so therefore I will not seek the endorsement of any union body to avoid a potential conflict. As your mayor, you can rest assure that I will chose to be independent of these conflicts of interest and continue to represent the residents and taxpayers of this community. I do not want an appearance of impropriety nor an issue with the work that ALL union employees of our city do daily. Make no mistake I will work with all Labor Unions to move Jamestown forward.”
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