Firefighters Worry Promotions Change to Help Cohoes NY Mayor's Friends

COHOES, NY—Union leaders representing Cohoes city firefighters say proposed changes to the promotional requirements for their department's captains are being lowered to possibly assist members who are close to Mayor Shawn Morse.

The group is planning to protest the proposed changes at a city Civil Service Commission meeting scheduled to take place Monday night. The "emergency" meeting is being convened at the request of Morse, who lost a Democratic primary in June to challenger Bill Keeler.

Keeler, a former State Police major, is running unopposed in November.

Morse, who is in the final year of his first term, is scheduled to stand trial next month on federal criminal charges alleging he stole thousands of dollars in campaign funds and used the money for personal expenditures, including family vacations. He did not respond to a request for comment.

The union leaders contend the measures, which would allow a lieutenant to be promoted to captain after just six months in the lower position, could imperil the safety of residents and firefighters. Another proposal would allow a firefighter with no supervisory experience to be promoted directly to a captain's position.

"It creates a safety issue not only for the firefighters, but also the residents of the city of Cohoes, having people in a position that are not prepared for that," said Robert Johnson, vice president of the city's firefighters' union.

Morse's cousin, George Primeau Jr., is a city firefighter who was promoted to lieutenant in January.

Several Common Council members and the members of the union's executive board are expected to attend the commission's meeting. It's unclear who the commission's current members are and Morse did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday. Morse appoints members to the three-member commission.

Similar measures were proposed several months ago that would have changed the promotional standards in the city's police force but the commission backed off making those adjustments after protests from police officers.

At that time, police union leaders said, Morse allegedly threatened to abolish the police force's lieutenant positions because of their opposition to his proposals, which would have paved the way for promotions of Morse's friends on the police force.

Firefighters said they fear similar threats of retribution as they prepare to wage a protest against the proposals as Morse, who is a former Cohoes firefighter, nears the end of his run as mayor.

"We can't wait for the friends and family plan to come to an end," said Brian Bullock, president of the city firefighters' union.

Bullock said the union polled its 31 members over the weekend, and they overwhelmingly opposed the proposed changes.

In the fire department, there is one person on the civil service list seeking to be promoted to captain and five members seeking a lieutenant's position. Lt. Bill Carlson, who is seeking the captain's post, has been a firefighter for 28 years and is a former firefighter of the year. He has been a lieutenant for 16 years.

Under the current rules, a lieutenant needs to be in that position for at least three years to be promoted to captain.

Johnson said there are often times when the fire chief or a captain are on vacation and may not available to respond to major incidents, leaving the responsibility to a lower-ranking member. That makes it critical that lieutenants and captains have adequate experience, he said.

"It's a lot of responsibility, even on a lieutenant's part," Johnson said.

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