Editor's Note: East Meadow Patch requested editorials from each of the candidates for fire commissioner.
I am 56-years-old and a lifelong resident of East Meadow. I attended Newbridge Road Elementary School, Woodland Middle School and East Meadow High School, graduating in 1974. After graduation I attended Long Island University earning a degree in Criminal Justice. While studying at C.W. Post I enrolled in an accelerated graduate program and received my Master’s Degree in 1979.
After graduation I worked for the Nassau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, writing and monitoring federal and state grants. In January 1982 I was sworn into the New York City Police Department and served five years as a police officer, leaving as an investigator with the Public Morals Division of the Organize Crime Control Bureau. In January 1987 I joined the Nassau County Police Department where I am still employed as a police officer.
As a child growing up in East Meadow I was always involved with our community. I was a member of the Boy Scouts, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. I then joined the EMFD Junior Fire Company and served as their first captain. At the age of 18, I joined the East Meadow Fire Department and have remained active for the past 38 years.
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I feel my need to be part of our community was inherited from my father Alfred, who was involved with the Little League and Kiwanis club for more than 30 years. My father was instrumental in building the baseball fields on Merrick Avenue and it was through him that I started to get involved with the little league where both my sons played as well as being an active member of the Kiwanis Club myself.
As a firefighter I had the pleasure of serving as the secretary to the Board of Fire Commissioners in East Meadow for four years. In June of 2001, I was appointed as the secretary treasurer of the Lakeview Fire District where I still serve in that capacity. My responsibilities include the preparation of the budget, payroll, checks, purchasing, grants writing, and any legal matters before the board.
I am an active member of the Nassau County Association of Fire Districts as well as the NYS Association of Fire Districts and have had the opportunity to lobby in Albany as well as Washington D.C. on behalf of Long Island Firefighters. While doing so, I have seen recruitment and retention as a problem with the fire service in Nassau County.
With high taxes and real estate being expensive we need to find ways to attract members and keep them. Different ideas have been examined such as economic housing alternatives, but to date nothing has come through fruition.
My 15 years working on the East Meadow Board as well as the Lakeview Board has equipped me with the knowledge and experience that would benefit the East Meadow Board of Fire Commissioners. I feel it is imperative that a person elected to the position of commissioner must be willing and able to commit the time and attend all the meetings and functions required of him or her.
If elected commissioner I pledge to commit the time necessary as well as my years of experience to continue to provide our fire department with the best equipment necessary to do their job effectively and safely so no firefighter is hurt.
