George,

In the last council election [the Charlottesville Professional Firefighters] did endorse the Democratic ticket. We look at past voting records for the incumbents and questionnaires for both sides. A decision is then made by the Executive Board with input from the membership. That's on a Local level.

On the State and Federal elections we rely on the same data. Our State Association (VPFF) and National Organization (IAFF) both assist with voting records and questionnaires, we also look at what they may have done on a local level. Since we are members of the AFL-CIO we also use their data.

The VPFF was heavily involved in the Warner Campaign. We were one of the first labor organizations to endorse the Governor. We had locals hosting fundraising events and work for the campaign throughout. We also endorsed the Governor on the Downtown Mall at the event that was hosted last fall.

The decision for endorsements from the State Association come out of the same process and the recommendations are voted on by the Board of Directors. The Board is made up of the Local Presidents from across the State.

The General Assembly elections endorsements on a local level are left up to the decision of the local.

As for the last council election, our contributions were in the GOTV activities election day. We were not as involved in that election as we have been in the past. We were going through some re-structuring and some things got missed.

In the Senate race, after the primary we did endorse Senator Deeds.

Hope that answers your questions.

We are in the process of sending out our questionnaire for the council race. After I receive those back we will be making an endorsement.

Robert Bragg (electronic mail, April 10, 2002)