Florida Fire Fighter-Endorsed Candidates Win Seats

April 14, 2009 – Following hard campaigning efforts by Belleair Bluffs Fire Rescue Fire Fighters (represented by Clearwater, FL Local 1158), all four of the candidates they endorsed won their seats. The fire fighters endorsed incumbent Mayor Chris Arbutine and newcomers Suzy Sofer, Jack Nazario, and Joe Barkley for Belleair Bluffs City Commission.

“There are just 12 of us in Belleair Bluffs, so everyone had to put in a lot of work to get it all done,” says Macho Liberti, Belleair Bluffs fire fighter and member of Local 1158. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Mayor Arbutine and working with the new commissioners to improve fire operations.”

With the help of the IAFF Recruiting and Endorsing Candidates Online Learning Module, the Belleair Bluffs fire fighters distributed campaign literature, ran campaign advertisements and hosted campaign events.

On Election Day, approximately 100 fire fighters from IAFF locals around the region traveled to Belleair Bluffs to help fire fighters there wave signs promoting their candidates. “The turnout was amazing,” says Liberti. “You couldn’t go anywhere without seeing a fire fighter.”

Voters identified with the fire fighters’ campaign messages and re-elected Mayor Chris Arbutine for a fifth term. Mayor Arbutine defeated his opponent, David Shimkus by a margin of 58 percent to 42 percent.

Because Shimkus cannot serve out the rest of his term, fire fighter-endorsed candidate Joseph Barkley won that seat with 50 percent of the vote.

Another incumbent commissioner, Robert Russo, also failed to keep his seat. Russo only received 23 percent of the votes in a three-way race for two seats. Instead, newcomers Suzy Sofer and John “Jack” Nazario took the majority of the votes, picking up the two open seats.

Russo blamed lack of campaign dollars and his failure to win the fire fighters’ endorsement for his loss.