Fire Engine No. 5 is hitting the campaign trail.
Don’t worry, the 1962 American LaFrance engine that locals have
spotted around Hollister covered in
”
Vote Yes on Measure T
”
signs isn’t being detoured from a dangerous burn.
Hollister – Fire Engine No. 5 is hitting the campaign trail.
Don’t worry, the 1962 American LaFrance engine that locals have spotted around Hollister covered in “Vote Yes on Measure T” signs isn’t being detoured from a dangerous burn. Instead, the fire department’s union is taking the engine for rides around town to promote Measure T, the sales tax initiative that local voters will consider on Nov. 6.
“We’ve gotten a lot of thumbs’ up,” said Fire Capt. Charlie Bedolla. “We’re just waving and ringing the bell.”
Like everyone else in the department, Bedolla is a member of Local 3395, and he said every union member is “busting their butt” to make sure Measure T passes.
“We can’t keep accusing politicians for bad calls,” he said. “We need to help get Hollister on its feet again.”
Bedolla said the union supports the measure, which would increase the city’s sales tax from 7.25 percent to 8.25 percent, because cuts have left the fire department so understaffed. In recent months, he estimated that one-fourth of the fire department has been taken to the hospital for on-the-job injuries.
“If we had more people, those were probably preventable,” he said.
The fire department only has the staff to man its ladder truck two-thirds of the time, Bedolla noted, so calls such as vehicle rescues might have to wait until an off-duty firefighter can be paged. The San Benito County Fire Department and the San Juan Bautista Fire Department are understaffed, too, he said. On Monday, every piece of firefighting equipment in the county was in use.
“If the truck hadn’t been on … anyone who called 911 would have been waiting quite a while,” Bedolla said.
Opponents of the sales tax increase have pointed out that the measure does not commit any of the estimated $3.5 to $4 million it would raise annually to public safety, but Bedolla said he’s confident that the City Council will take care of the fire department.
“We’re going to hold them accountable,” he said.
Hollister resident Marty Richman, who has been a vocal opponent of Measure T, said he doesn’t mind if firefighters campaign for the sales tax while off duty, as long as voters realize that the firefighters are campaigning out of self-interest.
“The real issue is that the fire department, the police department and other public agencies stand to gain economically from this excessive tax,” Richman said.
Firefighter David Young said he was “disappointed more than surprised” when an identical initiative, Measure R, was defeated by Hollister voters 52 percent to 48 percent in 2006. The union campaigned for Measure R, but its members are doing more in this campaign, he said.
Fire Engine No. 5 is a prime example of that, said union Vice President Bill Olguin, because they didn’t think to take it out for the last campaign.
The union purchased the engine nine years ago after the death of former Chief Tony Aguirre, Olguin said. Aguirre had used the engine during his long career with the Hollister Fire Department, but it was sold in the 1970s and had been “sitting in some guy’s backyard,” Olguin said.
