PORT LUDLOW — Members of Local 3811, which represents Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue firefighters, have passed a vote of no confidence in Chief Brad Martin.
The Sept. 3 vote is because of a “litany of issues,” according to a statement issued by union president Wicus McGuffey to fire district commissioners on Sept. 8.
“They are highlighted by his resistance to conducting and leading a strategic planning process and the alarming loss of career members through resignation, not due to retirement, but to pursue career positions with other agencies in our immediate area,” the statement said, adding that five career firefighters have left the department.
The board of fire commissioners is working to schedule a special meeting next week to discuss the vote, said board Chairman Gene Carmody.
The board has a regularly scheduled meeting at 7 p.m. Oct. 13, according to the fire department’s website.
Martin said he will respond to the no-confidence vote during the commissioners’ meeting.
“The matter is in process, and I will first be speaking with the board of commissioners,” he said Thursday.
The no-confidence statement from the union and the initial email responses from Carmody and McGuffey were obtained through a Public Records Act request by the Peninsula Daily News.
McGuffey did not return emails or phone calls from the PDN for further comment.
According to the union statement, this is the first time a vote of no confidence has been made in regard to a Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue chief.
In the email McGuffey sent to the commissioners with the no-confidence statement, he said: “We do not wish to publicly disparage Chief Martin, or to cast PLFR in a negative light, so it is the Local’s hope that providing this letter directly to the [board of commissioners], the matter can be dealt with in as confidential matter as possible.”
The Local 3811 union of Jefferson County Firefighters represents career firefighters serving in Port Ludlow and Quilcene Fire Rescue and is part of the International Association of Fire Firefighters, according to the union’s website.
Martin was hired in May 2011 as assistant chief to then-Chief Ed Wilkerson, who left the district in November 2011 to take a position in Arizona. Commissioners named Martin interim chief and then, in August 2012, hired him as the district’s permanent chief.
In the statement of no confidence, McGuffey said that when Martin was appointed fire chief in 2012, it was with the full support of the union.
Union members now believe the chief is failing to lead the department effectively and has been unwilling and unable to provide strategic leadership, the statement said.
The union reportedly tried to have Martin initiate a strategic planning process for three years. It wasn’t until February of this year that the process began and was completed in June, the statement said.
The strategic plan can be viewed at tinyurl.com/PDN-PLFRstrategicplan.
Lack of planning and organizational direction is cited by the statement as the primary reason for the loss of five career department members representing 67 years of service.
“We’ve failed to retain the five members lost, but without proactive change in leadership and organizational direction, we will not be able to retain other veteran members or the firefighters that we are hiring and training to replace them,” the statement said.
It was not clear on Thursday how many firefighters are in the department and how many are union members.
“Firefighters have a unique passion for their careers — we hold our service to the community close to our hearts,” the union statement said.
“Our mission as Jefferson County Professional Fire Fighters is to protect the lives and the property of the people of Port Ludlow. Chief Martin’s lack of leadership has negatively impacted our ability to meet our mission and this is the root cause in the body’s Vote of No Confidence.”
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
