Brea City Council Member Don Schweitzer, who is not up for reelection this year, is sick and tired of the ridiculous misinformation put out by the greedy firefighters’s union, and he is fighting back with a letter he sent out to residents this week (which I am reproducing below).
He brings up a good point. No City Council candidate is against public safety. That is a ridiculous notion. But the highly paid union firefighters in Brea are up in arms because they want to force the City of Brea to outsource them to the O.C. Fire Authority, so they can make even more money. They currently rake in $150K to $200K per firefighter, per year, in a city with a median household income of $84K.
Are firefighters at a lot of risk? In Brea, 75% of their service is paramedic-related. Only a quarter of their service calls are related to fires and other non-paramedic matters. The truth is that stringent building codes have made raging fires a thing of the past, for the most part. Roofers and truck drivers face much higher risk on a day to day basis, but they are lucky to make a quarter of what the union firefighters make.
You have to laugh at the mailer the union sent out on behalf of their candidates, Roy Moore and Ric Clough. The mailer says they are putting Brea’s citizens in charge. No, if these guys win they will be putting the union in charge! Can voters trust these two union shills to do the right thing with the public employee pension crisis? No way!
Here is Schweitzer’s letter:
Dear Brea Resident,
My name is Don Schweitzer. I am currently a member of the Brea City Council. The reason for this email is quite simple. I am concerned about the misinformation the firefighter’s union is putting out during this campaign. Please do not base your support or non-support of a candidate on what the firefighters are saying about public safety. Every current councilman and every current candidate places public safety as their number one priority. To suggest otherwise is categorically untrue!
Ask yourself why the union is spending tens of thousands of dollars to get two particular candidates elected. The short answer is that they believe their candidates will give them a majority vote on the council to dismantle the Brea Fire Department and contract with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA). Is that what you want? Do you want to lose control of our Fire Department that has a 98% public satisfaction rating? I sincerely hope not.
Brea’s new fire department reorganization plan saves the city nearly $1,300,000 per year when fully implemented without compromising public safety. It does this by controlling the firemen’s unnecessary overtime costs. No salary reductions and no layoffs.
OCFA’s plan supported by the firefighter’s union only saved $500,000 per year while losing city control and laying off 18 Brea fire personnel.
When in doubt, follow the money. Our firefighters want to work for OCFA because of higher salaries, better benefits and more opportunity for advancement; not because of providing Brea with better public safety.
Brea is safe. Brea will remain safe and should control its own destiny! Please vote for the candidates that will say NO to the Fire Union’s power play.
If you agree with my opinion, please forward this email to your friends and family. We can’t compete with expensive banners, posters and billboards but we can make a difference by getting the word out.
Thank you,
Don Schweitzer
Brea City Council
I’m certainly in agreement – the unions would be in control thanks to their three person majority. However, it’s not like Brea residents are in control now. Our wonderful city manager has centralized power in his office, pulling the puppet strings of Ron Garcia, John Beauman and, of course, Don Schweitzer and ensuring their loyalty to him.
There won’t be any change in Brea after the election. Well, that’s not entirely true – we’ll be without a fire department.
Art do you live in Brea ?, And try 64k unless you’re using the same calculator that was used in the street sweeping program. Once again its staffing,when one person is missing do you fill that spot,or close an engine down? …and say sorry lets try scheduling your emergency sometime later but thank you for calling . 150k to 200k is for admin, and by the way the battalion chiefs still get overtime in this great plan that they came up with. try telling the whole truth.
Dear Brea Resident,
My name is irrelevant. I am not currently a member of the Brea City Council or any other elected body. I’m a citizen just like you. The reason for this email is quite simple, I am concerned about the misinformation some council members and city staff are putting out during this campaign.
Please do not base your support or non-support of a candidate on what those who reduced our fire services are saying about public safety. Some current councilmen and some current candidates place public safety as their number one priority, others obviously do not. To suggest otherwise is categorically untrue!
Ask yourself why a handful of Brea political insiders is wading in so heavily to get their favorite candidates elected. The short answer is that they believe these candidates will help maintain their majority vote on the council in support of whatever the city manager decides is best for your community. Is that what you want? Do you want to continue to relinquish control of our local government to a handful of overpaid bureaucrats? I sincerely hope not.
Brea’s new fire department reorganization plan is based upon unproven assumptions, wishful thinking and promises of savings that will likely never be achieved. It’s true motivation comes from a fear of loss of control which is no more likely than the sky falling.
OCFA’s plan was supported by the Firefighters Association because the plan would have immediately dealt with the staffing and equipment inadequacies that have developed under the direction of a command staff interested only in preserving their excessive salaries and enviable benefit packages, more comprehensive than 80% of working Brean’s, and huge retirement plans; instead of providing Brea with better public safety.
Brea is unsafe. Brea will remain unsafe until we can regain control of those whose votes determine budgets and service levels required to ensure our safety! Please vote for the candidates that will say NO to the ridiculous reorganization plan.
If you agree with my opinion, please forward this email to your friends and family. We can’t compete with salacious mudslinging campaigns and billboards that are obviously deceptive… but we can make a difference by getting the word out and going to the polls on November 2nd.
Remember to Vote November 2! Change the “Old” guard. Vote for anybody but Garcia and Murdock! See you next election Don! Keep up the bad fight!