Today I met with Miles Sweeney, President of the Vista Fire Fighters Association. He has over 20 years in the fire service, 17 and a half in service to the City of Vista and is currently a Captain at Station #2. Mr. Sweeney is a United States Navy veteran, husband of twenty years and father of two. Over the phone we discussed what the Firefighter’s Association has been up to, their recent charity work within the community, as well as the upcoming City Council election.
Sweeney began the conversation by giving a short introduction on the role of the Firefighter’s Association. “The Vista Fire Fighters Association (Local 4107) represents the more than 80 full-time professional firefighters and paramedics who protect the residents and visitors of our hometown. Our members are the core of the fire department and operate the City’s six fire stations, responding to over 14,000 incidents a year. This includes not only our primary function of the protection of life, property, and the environment; but also, public service in areas such as public education, fire prevention, and support of many other community services.”
Sweeney continued, “But we are so much more than just a representation group, the men and women of the Vista Fire Fighters Association take great pride in giving back and staying involved in our community. Last year, the Vista Firefighters Charity Council raised and donated nearly $80,000 to local Vista charities. So far this year, we have supported Operation Hope, Vista Teen Outreach, Vista Girls Softball and the North Coast Church Backpack Drive. Our members are regulars at Councilmember Corinna Contreras’s weekly litter clean-up in District 1, and I teamed up with Councilmember Joe Green again this year at the Read Across America event held at Beaumont Elementary. Our members are always looking for ways to give back to the community that provides so much for us. We are currently working with the Vista Teachers Association to distribute much needed school supplies to students attending Bobier and Maryland Elementary schools.”
When asked how he sees the Vista City Council election sizing up, Mr. Sweeney stated that their Association had just finished up their endorsement process, with their Executive Board voting to support the incumbent Joe Green in District 2, and challenger Katie Melendez in District 3.
“Vista is a busy City right now and with the abundance of rapid growth happening currently, the Vista Fire Fighters Association found it necessary to have our voice heard on public safety issues. We do that by supporting the candidate who will be an advocate for our community regarding public safety. As an Association that represents the City’s firefighters, paramedics, and fire inspectors, our members are on the front lines 24 hours a day and are keen to the issues expressed by our fellow Vistans. We seem to have similar public safety concerns about building construction, density, traffic flow, and our ever-increasing call volume. We hope we have similar choices at the ballot box as well.”
When it comes to new district races versus the old city-wide elections Sweeney believes that public safety issues cut across geographic lines and transcend party affiliation. “For me, it’s more than just district lines,” he said. “It’s really about standing with candidates because we have shared belief systems, shared values.”
So why these two candidates? What made them stand out? Sweeney began with Joe Green. “Simply stated, Joe Green is a proven advocate for our firefighter paramedics. Mr. Green has provided firefighters the proverbial “seat” at the decision-making table and listens to the boots on the ground that I represent and is, in our professional opinion, a “servant leader”. Personally, what I admire about Mr. Green is his ability to listen. He genuinely listens to concerns that come from his firefighters, his constituents, and all citizens of Vista. While some don’t agree with him on certain issues I found that he puts himself out there on social media to collect input, data, and comments before he casts his vote on an agenda item. As anyone who uses any social media platform knows, it can get ugly and I have seen the vitriol spewed towards Mr. Green because of a decision he has made as an elected official. But he does not shut it down or ignore the comments. He replies professionally and remains engaged in conversation and puts himself back out there again and again, because he knows his elected job is being a public servant while on the dais. Again, there it is, in SERVICE to others. The same goes with public safety. He listens to our concerns regarding public safety issues and engages our Association in meaningful conversation to find solutions.” Sweeney went on to explain that when firefighters began to test positive for COVID-19 and others were falling ill and in isolation away from their families, Joe Green would personally reach out to him and offer help and support. “That went a long way with our members” Sweeney declared. “Joe also frequents the different fire stations and meets with the crews and is always ready to team up with our Vista Firefighters Charity Council to spread some joy to the citizens we both serve. Our firefighters know that Joe has their back”.
We then moved on to why the VFFA endorsed Katie Melendez for Vista City Council District 3. Mr. Sweeney went on to explain their endorsement process and how through it their Executive Board learned much about Ms. Melendez’s profession, education, background, and views on Public Safety. “As a social worker, much of what she does professionally daily, is grounded in SERVICE to others. This is directly in line with our mission to serve the citizens of Vista and instantly earned Ms. Melendez respect from our membership. Additionally, her professional background gives her meaningful insight to address issues like homelessness, substance abuse and quality of life issues in Vista that our firefighter paramedics witness on a daily basis.”
Sweeney went on to explain that seeing that Ms. Melendez had secured the endorsement of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council helped him in the decision-making process. “As you may know, the Vista Fire Fighters Association is an affiliate of the International Association of Fire Fighters, AFL/CIO and we proudly stand with the working people of our City. We were pleased to see that Ms. Melendez earned the endorsement of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council and that if elected, the working people of Vista will have a voice representing them at City Hall.”
Sweeney then turned back to public safety reiterating the issues he sees as the City of Vista continues to expand. “When public safety issues arise, whether it is density challenges, increasing emergency call volume, or traffic concerns faced by first responders, we feel that firefighters will have an advocate in Ms. Katie Melendez. Although our fire department is “all-risk” (meaning Structure Fire, Wildland Fire, EMS, HazMat, Rescue, etc.…) and more than capable of mitigating hazards and fulfilling our mission, it is nice to know that we can have an advocate at the highest level of our city government that can assist us in addressing public safety concerns. And who better to support and endorse to assist firefighters with those concerns, than someone who has also dedicated her life in the service of her neighbors, Ms. Katie Melendez.”
Mr. Sweeney concluded the interview by letting me know that Vista Fire currently has 10 members out on the frontlines of fires burning in Northern California and he himself just returned from a two-week deployment. “I just want to let your readers know that as your Vista Firefighters are assisting in the firefighting efforts up North, that our stations here in town remained fully staffed and ready to respond to all emergencies.”
