Md. Firefighters Conduct No-Confidence Vote in Chief
Source The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
March 08--Anne Arundel County firefighters on Thursday took a no-confidence vote in Fire Chief Robert Ray, whom the firefighters' union accuse of gutting the department to implement budget cuts.
"Our membership has made it very clear that they no longer believe that Chief Ray can lead the fire department in a positive direction," said Craig Oldershaw, head of the union that represents firefighters.
The vote comes days after police officers voiced no-confidence in their leaders, although the unions offer different causes for the votes.
Firefighters say the chief is deliberately holding open more than 60 vacant positions, a money-saving move that would eventually make it easier to cut an entire shift of workers. The firefighters say there are alternative ways to save money that don't weaken public safety, but that Ray has declined to take those steps.
Fire Department spokesman Division Chief Michael Cox said Ray and the department leadership were unaware Friday morning of the vote or the reasons behind it and declined further comment.
County spokesman David Abrams said the administration would wait to hear the results of the vote before commenting.
At a meeting in February, firefighters unanimously passed a no-confidence vote. But today's vote allows all firefighters to cast a ballot through a secure, online voting system. Voting began yesterday afternoon and will continue until 9 p.m. tonight.
Support for public safety leaders has deteriorated this week, as police officers have called for their chief and County Executive John R. Leopold to resign. A union representing 500 rank-and-file officers voted Tuesday to call for Leopold and Police Chief James Teare to step down following a grand jury indictment handed down last week.
The indictment accused Leopold of criminal misconduct for using his tax-payer funded police detail for personal and political gain. The indictment said Teare was informed of the misuse, but did not take "effective" steps to stop it.
The allegations include that Leopold had officers help him rip down campaign signs and compile dossiers on people he perceived to be political enemies. The American Civil Liberties Union announced this week it is investigating whether the dossiers violate anti-spying laws.
The indictment also accuses Leopold of directing officers to run interference so that his girlfriends did not meet eachother and of asking them to wait while he had sexual trysts in parking lots of Annapolis-area businesses.
Leopold and Teare said they have no plans to resign.
The firefighters' concerns, meanwhile, center on proposed cuts to the department. However, Oldershaw said the firefighters support the police officer's call for Leopold's resignation.
"In light of what has happened, we concur with the police that Leopold has got to go," Oldershaw said.
Copyright 2012 - The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
