Choosing Time
When our daughters were young and the family had to make a big decision, we’d get two glass jars and a bag of beans. Each jar represented the pros and cons of a decision. The simple process gave each member of the family a chance to weigh in, highlighted multiple viewpoints and allowed discussion of the ramifications of a major decision, as it sometimes involved a household move.
The jar concept was revived last week during the presidential debate. My daughter pulled out two glasses and a bag of almonds, one glass for John McCain and one glass for Barack Obama. Each time a candidate made a verifiable fact or positive remark, she put an almond in the appropriate glass. While it was an amusing way to watch the debate, it was another way for truly undecided voters to weigh the pros and cons of each candidate.
This is an interesting election year. Each party has a minority running for one of the nation’s top two positions. Each party has a seasoned senator running for a top office. And each party has a longtime, active member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in the race.
McCain is the only still-serving senator who founded the caucus in 1987. He also was the first member of Congress to hold a hearing on the FIRE Act.
Sen. Joe Biden replaced a retired member of the caucus in 2001. Biden is known to stop and chat to uniformed fire chiefs in the senate halls.
I’ve met both McCain and Biden at receptions before the annual Congressional Fire Services Institute dinners. Both senators are warm, engaging individuals. Biden is my favorite political speaker during the long evening of political speeches and he is an avid, ardent supporter of the Delaware fire service representatives in Washington, D.C. And McCain has an excellent memory and has a quick sense of humor.
Each senator has a running mate that pales in experience, but maybe that’s a good thing.
While I won’t endorse a candidate here, I do know that on Jan. 20, the incoming president will begin to appoint new directors to government agencies. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison and the U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade will be officially out of jobs. Hopefully, for the fire and emergency services, both the current FEMA and the USFA leaders will be replaced with former fire chiefs.
The USFA has been without a deputy fire administrator since Charlie Dickinson retired this summer. Rumor has it that a new deputy fire administrator — a career civil servant position — will be appointed by January.
After the election, write the president-elect and suggest that Cade remain as an interim administrator until a new fire administrator can be appointed. Whether Cade is reappointed or not, it’s imperative to have an administrator who has had prior experience in fire and emergency services.
Check your calendar and make sure you vote either absentee, in advance or on Nov. 4. Whomever you decide to vote for, decide to vote. Every bean counts.
