Career firefighter, farmer face off for commission post

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer

The race for a seat on the Franklin Fire District 3 Commission pits a farmer who was once a volunteer firefighter against a career firefighter who's seeking his third term as a fire commissioner.

Incumbent Tom Hughes, 52, is a captain in the Kennewick Fire Department, where he has worked for 24 years.

He started his fire service as a volunteer firefighter with the district, and continued as a volunteer for 30 years, he said. He has served two six-year terms as a commissioner.

"It's kind of a rewarding thing. I've been doing this job for a long time," Hughes said. "My heart's always been with the district. It's just very rewarding to see the progress set forth and how our department grows."

Challenger Glen Clifford, 57, owns Clifford Farms, where he grows potatoes, sweet corn, peas, wheat and other small seed crops and also has a cherry orchard.

He was a volunteer firefighter for the district for 15 years, but quit about 10 years ago because he wasn't able to keep up with the necessary training while taking care of his farm and orchard, he said.

"I've been asked in the past if I would do this (run for commissioner) and it's gotten now to where I've got enough time to spend doing it," Clifford said. "As a commissioner, I'd still be involved in the fire district and have some input on how they're handled and help keep things up to date."

Ballots for the Nov. 3 general election were sent out earlier this week.

Clifford said the biggest problem for the fire district is getting enough people to be volunteer firefighters. He thinks officials need to have more one-on-one contact with people to make them understand it's a necessity in the community.

"If anyone is going to have fire protection, it is going to be done by volunteers in the county," he said.

He said the district has done a good job keeping its equipment up to date, and the only other challenges he sees is keeping up with the population growth in the county and getting matching funds from state and federal sources.

Diminishing resources is the biggest challenge for the district in Hughes' eyes. The fire district's ability to collect more property taxes each year is capped at 1 percent, but that doesn't keep up with the cost of inflation.

"It's kind of a challenge to determine how to keep going. How to keep providing services," Hughes said. "We're looking at every source we can find. We look for grants when we get an opportunity."

The district's self-contained breathing apparatuses need to be replaced next year at a cost of about $190,000, and Hughes said they're looking for grants to help fund the expense.

Hughes calls himself a "fiscal conservative" who has always tried hard not to outspend the money the district gets from the public.

"Right now we're trying to make do with what we're getting," he said. "I'm really proud of that. We're living within our means."

Both candidates say they like their opponent and Clifford said Hughes has done an "excellent job" as a commissioner for the fire district.

Clifford even admits Hughes may be "more so suited for the job, just from his training and background," but he said he thinks Hughes' job prevents him from spending the necessary amount of time that a fire commissioner needs to put in.

"I am more able to spend the time -- and I'd like to continue on with what he's done," Clifford said. "I do have the experience. A lot of my experience comes from farming and (working with) large equipment trucks. A lot of a commissioner's job is appropriating new equipment and trucks for the fire district and I am well acquainted with pumps and everything and work with that every day."

Hughes said he occasionally has a conflict with the commission meetings because he's still working, but he always communicates with the other commissioners and always makes sure there's a quorum for meetings.

"It's not an issue to me. I've got all the time in the world -- not to mention I am getting close to retirement," Hughes said. "I fully believe I am providing a good service to the community. I feel like I owe a lot to the community. This is a very good way to give back."

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Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Career firefighter, farmer face off for commission post

By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer