Local heroes

One of the greatest benefits of living in this area, one that we seldom think about, is our local fire department and the dedicated first responders who serve us without hesitation each and every day.

As Director of North County Fire from 2018-2022, I got to know many of these ‘local heroes’ and I was also able to review the hundreds of customer service surveys turned in by you, the members of this community. Almost without exception, each of you who responded to these surveys spoke of our responders with the highest of praise.

I read reports of how our firefighters went the extra mile for you; taking time to comfort a child just brought into an emergency ward, cleaning up an elderly woman’s house after a fall, or retrieving personal items strewn about the scene of an incident that they had responded to. I also saw how, in their down time at the station, they took it upon themselves to perform maintenance and improvements to their quarters, resulting in unanticipated taxpayer savings.

Our firefighters take great pride in the service they provide to our community and care about us they do, to an extent few of us really know. For that reason, it’s imperative when you vote this November, in honor of their allegiance and dedication to this community, that you seriously consider the endorsements made by the Fallbrook Firefighters Association.

Your North County Fire Board and Voces de Fallbrook worked closely together during the redistricting efforts of 2020 and 2021 to ensure that District 1 (our town’s core) was established as a Latino majority-minority district. Voces’ expressed goal was that the community would then be able to elevate one of their own to that office and thereby, obtain a greater voice in local government.

With this November’s election, there finally is a member of the Hispanic community who has stepped up and asked for your consideration for the District 1 seat and the Fallbrook Firefighter’s Association has endorsed that candidate, Jeanette Barragan.

Jeanette is a proud and successful Latino and a home-grown candidate, having lived here for 22 years and graduated from Fallbrook High. She is invested in this community, not only as a small business owner, but also in her involvement with youth and community sports (as a single mother, it’s all about family for her). She considers herself apolitical and is not aligned with any one political party.

When contrasted side-by-side with her opponent, Jeanette Barragan is the obvious embodiment of the goals Voces sought to achieve with the formation of District 1; an educated and qualified Latino candidate, one who truly understands the cultural identity of her community, and one whose personal values are closely aligned with that of her district and that of the greater Fallbrook area.

And in District 5, Mark Bartholomew is the Fallbrook Firefighter Association’s endorsed candidate. Mark is a retired fire captain with 35 years of service with the LA County Fire Department and served additionally for 20 years as a Trustee of the Health and Welfare Plan for that agency.

He is a 20 year resident of the Bonsall/Fallbrook area. I know firsthand from working side-by-side with another director (David Kennedy, District 1, 2020-2021) of the importance of having a firefighting veteran on the Board of Directors. David’s years of service with the Vista Fire Department allowed him to share with the Board the lived experience of a firefighter and the passions, fears, and triumphs that come with it, something the rest of us on the Board could never truly envision save for his counsel to us.

On more than one occasion, he spoke passionately on matters personal to our firefighters, in each instance, deeply affecting my fellow Board members and me. David also brought a certain legitimacy to the Board as he was a ‘brother in arms’ to his fellow firefighters and they knew that, on those issues they held most important, that he would be an unwavering advocate in keeping those issues alive before the Board, and trust me, he did!

Likewise, I am certain that Mark Bartholomew, by virtue of his life-long tenure, would bring that same invaluable insight and passion to the Board.

In summary, governance is best served when our elected leaders come from a diversity of backgrounds, both professionally and culturally, but especially when that diversity reflects the community they represent. Jeanette Barrigan brings an understanding of the Latino community that cannot be matched by any candidate. Mark Bartholomew possesses firsthand knowledge of the life of a firefighter and the issues that are most important for them to serve and protect you.

I look forward to the opportunity of serving you for another four years on this board and encourage you to vote for Jeanette and Mark to join me in that honor.

John Van Doorn