After decades of serving their community on the frontlines, two retired Riverview N.B. fire fighter-paramedics and union leaders are vying to continue their public service in a new venue.
Glenn Miller and Dennis Woods, both former Riverview Local 2549 presidents, recently launched campaigns for Riverview Town Council ahead of municipal election on May 11. Miller recently served as President of the Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association (APPFFA) and holds the title President Emeritus.
Local 2549 President Tom Babineau says while the association has enjoyed a much-improved relationship with city hall in the past five years, having a fire fighter or two at the council table “would be a gamechanger” for the association.
“It would be a huge voice for us in terms of advancing public safety initiatives like staffing and working conditions,” he said. “Both of them know the job inside out, both served here for over 25 years and both are past presidents of the local so they know the issues that matter.”
The Local has 26 members, including 24 dual fire fighter/paramedics. The town, situated in southeast New Brunswick with a population of 22,000, currently deploys four fire fighters on engine trucks but only two on ladder trucks.
About a dozen Local 2549 members are lined up to support the candidates with door knocking and with sign construction and installation.
Babineau says a key local need is to increase staffing on the town’s ladder trucks to four, in keeping with the 4 Firefighters 4 Your Safety campaign launched by the IAFF and the APPFFA in July 2025. The campaign aims to address chronic understaffing in several full-time fire departments across Atlantic Canada, which is home to 19 IAFF locals across New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Both of them know the job inside out, both served here for over 25 years and both are past presidents of the local so they know the issues that matter.
riverview nb locaL 2549 PRESIDENT TOM BABINEAU
Local 2549 has endorsed both candidates and has also endorsed incumbent Mayor Andrew J. LeBlanc. The town is governed by a mayor and seven councillors, four of whom represent specific wards and three of whom are elected at large. Candidates have until April 10 to enter the race.
Miller, 62, retired recently from the Riverview Fire & Rescue Department after 36 years and is running as an at-large candidate. He served as Local 2549 President on three separate occasions and served on the Atlantic Provinces Professional Fire Fighters Association (APPFFA) Executive Board for 12 years including a term as President before stepping down in July 2025.
He has also served as the public representative on the board of the New Brunswick Association of Respiratory Therapists and last year was appointed by the Mayor to the Riverview Health Care Advisory Committee and was elected to the New Brunswick College of Nursing Educational Advisory Board.
Miller, who has always enjoyed being politically active at the local, provincial and federal levels, said he was encouraged to run for Town Council by numerous people. His campaign focus is public safety, responsible growth and development and improved local infrastructure. His slogan is “A lifetime of service, a voice you can trust.”
One of Miller’s main goals is to keep building on existing council support to improve Riverview Fire and Rescue response capabilities with advocacy for a full staffing complement on two trucks. Developing infrastructure to create a sustainable tax base in what is largely a residential community is key to growing all municipal services, he said.
“I want to keep that small-town feel but the reality is that we need industry or at least commercial businesses to sustain our tax base so the town can continue to provide the great services we provide.”
Woods, 63, retired from the department in 2022 after 27 years on the job and served as Local 2549 President in the mid-2000s. With the campaign slogan “The neighbour you know,” he’s running in Ward 4, a tree-lined residential neighbourhood on the city’s west side.
Woods said he has always been “civic-minded” and interested in improving the town he calls home. He is active in the local Neighbourhood Watch program and his frequent hikes have gained him an understanding of a range of municipal issues including homelessness, addiction and mental health.
He said he would be honoured to serve on the Town Council and to be part of the collaboration that helps move it forward in public safety and other areas. “I have always served the public. I love the town I live in and I’d like to keep giving back.”
