I have recently retired with over 32 years in the fire service. In the beginning, my department was similar to VIFR as we were a combination of volunteers,

resident firefighters and full-time paid firefighters and paramedics. We were constantly understaffed and under-funded. However, we had the type of growth that made our fiscal and staffing struggles manageable and then, over time, very stable.

I have done my homework regarding VIFR, and I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to fund a fire department with such limited growth typical of an island of this size. Remember, whether VIFR purchases or leases fire apparatus, the equipment costs just as much here as it does for a fire department with much larger budgets. The cost for one fire engine is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This is a fraction of the many issues upper administration must face everyday.

In speaking with Candy McCullough, I know she gets it. If you are tired of hearing the word experience, I get it. Time in the grade alone does not make a commissioner. How one spends that time and how one gains that experience does. Candy has gained her experience by listening, learning and being heavily involved. “Commissioner” is not just a title to her. Candy makes her decisions based on the best outcome for the greater good. Those decisions can be tough and uncomfortable, but necessary. The ability to do that is the sign of a true leader. Nobody is going to make decisions that satisfy all people all of the time; however, you can be assured that Candy has the best interests of the island’s taxpayers and our fire department in mind at all times. Please don’t make change just for the sake of change. We need Candy McCullough now more than ever.

— Janet Jaeger