Election 2005: Menlo firefighter group asks candidate Peter Carpenter to withdraw from race Election 2005: Menlo firefighter group asks candidate Peter Carpenter to withdraw from race (October 05, 2005)

By Renee Batti

Almanac News Editor

Thanks for the good work, now go away.

That's the message Peter Carpenter took from the letter he recently received from the Menlo Park Firefighters' Association, informing him that the association is not endorsing him in his bid for re-election to the Menlo Park Fire Protection District board.

What's more, the letter asked Mr. Carpenter, who is nearing the end of his first term, to withdraw from the race.

Mr. Carpenter says he has no intention of dropping out.

Tom Neylan, president of the firefighters' association, said his group is endorsing incumbent Ollie Brown, a retired firefighter and deputy chief with the Menlo Park fire district; Rex Ianson, also a retired district firefighter; and Scott Freiermuth, who works for a Sunnyvale software company. There are three open seats on the five-member board.

In asking Mr. Carpenter to withdraw, the association's letter cited a statement it said Mr. Carpenter made at a recent board meeting "that if enough qualified candidates were running for the board, you would feel as if you would be able to graciously remove yourself from the election."

The letter continued, "... the Association board respectfully requests you follow through with that statement."

Mr. Carpenter told the Almanac that the statement cited in the letter was "inconsistent with what I said." Instead, he noted, "I said I very much wanted a contested election."

He suspects, he said, that his positions on fiscal matters is behind the association's withholding of an endorsement, although it endorsed Mr. Carpenter when he ran for his first term in 2001.

Mr. Carpenter has come out against continuing the district's generous "3 percent at 50" pension plan for new hires -- a position that is not popular among firefighters. The "3 percent at 50" formula allows the district's emergency workers to retire at the age of 50, with a pension of 3 percent for every year worked. That means a 50-year-old with 30 years of service can earn a yearly pension that is 90 percent of his or her highest salary.

The board and firefighters will be negotiating a new contract next year.

Mr. Neylan, the association president, told the Almanac that the endorsements had more to do with the work experience of the chosen candidates. Mr. Brown and Mr. Ianson had direct experience working in the district, and Mr. Freiermuth "grew up in Menlo Park, and his brother's a fireman," he said. "He understands our jobs."

With nine candidates, "it was a very tough decision by the selection committee -- there were some very good candidates," Mr. Neylan said. And, he added, "there were questions by [Mr. Carpenter's] colleagues about whether he really wanted to run or would serve out his term."

Mr. Carpenter told the Almanac he has every intention of serving a full term if re-elected. He also pointed to the association's letter, which listed a number of Mr. Carpenter's achievements as a board member. "I find it paradoxical that they can write a letter saying what a great job I've done and then not endorse me."

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