Modesto’s public safety unions endorse challenger in mayoral runoff election

Modesto’s two biggest public safety unions have endorsed challenger Ted Brandvold in his bid to unseat Mayor Garrad Marsh in the Feb. 2 runoff election.

The Modesto Police Officers Association and the Modesto City Fire Fighters Association issued news releases endorsing Brandvold, a former city planning commissioner, architect and owner of Commercial Architecture.

The releases were short on specifics but praised Brandvold for offering “fresh leadership and ideas” and his willingness to “work together with the stakeholders in our community to do what is best for Modesto’s future.”

The MPOA represents the Police Department’s roughly 180 officers and detectives. The MCFFA represents the Fire Department’s roughly 120 firefighters, engineers and captains.

Marsh and Brandvold were among five mayoral candidates in the Nov. 3 election. Marsh was the top vote-getter, with 39 percent of the vote. Brandvold came in second with 30 percent. The two are in the runoff election because no one received more than 50 percent of the vote.

“I’m somewhat disappointed, but at the same time, I’m understanding,” Marsh said. “I’ve been pretty tough on them on getting concessions on pensions and other labor issues. I think that is reflective on them not wanting to support me. ... There is a sense of frustration of where we are as a city and our crime rate and what we’ve had to do to balance the budget.”

Marsh led the way for putting sales tax increases on the November 2013 and November 2015 ballots. City officials said the taxes would have primarily been spent on restoring public safety positions and services. Both failed.

The police and fire departments each have lost more than 20 percent of their sworn positions since 2008 because the departments have not filled positions as officers and firefighters have left.

Brandvold – who did not support Modesto’s most recent sales tax increase effort – said he was grateful and humbled by the endorsements. “They are endorsing me because they have the same ideals I have for the city of Modesto and the citizens have,” he said.

He said those ideals include improving the city’s finances by growing the local economy. He said the city has not done enough in this area, while neighboring cities are seeing the benefits of economic growth. Brandvold said as mayor he also would conduct a line-by-line review of the city budget and do a better job of prioritizing how the city spends its money.

Modesto has been criticized for not being transparent about its budget, and Marsh has been criticized for saying Fire Station No. 6 faced closure if the city’s revenues did not improve. The station has not closed, but Marsh has said there is no guarantee the station can remain open in the long term. He also disputes claims the city is not open regarding its finances.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Modesto’s public safety unions endorse challenger in mayoral runoff election."