I first got to know Mike when he participated in a training with our firefighters. He donned our heavy bunker gear in 90-degree weather. He eagerly climbed up a 6-story ladder, crawled on his stomach in a dark smoke-filled room where visibility was so bad you could only see your hands in front of you. He performed CPR chest compressions until his muscles burned from fatigue. Mike wanted to learn about our job firsthand so he would have a better understanding of how to best protect our community.
He also rode with us throughout Edmonds to learn where we have older structures that pose fire hazards, the most dangerous intersections for vehicle crashes, and the patient traffic jams at our local hospital emergency room.
Mike has never wavered on his support for public safety. When other elected officials moved to cut our fire services by removing our downtown paramedic and cutting 12 firefighters, Mike sounded the alarm. After researching this issue, he explained that these cuts would lead to longer response times, which would put our citizens at serious risk. He was the lone vote that stood up for protecting our community.
Today, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace EMS and Fire units have doubled the amount of calls responding to Edmonds because Edmonds does not have enough units available. Because of the cuts to our fire service, it is taking us longer to respond to your loved ones in their time of need.
Mike doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk. When it comes to your safety, Mike Nelson is the best choice for mayor.
Isn’t it ridiculous that fire and emergency medical services are staffed with less today than they were in year 2000? Even though the community has grown exponentially. Mike thinks so too! He understands the needs for these services and listened to the community outcry before he was the only no vote against the staffing cuts. My family has needed fast emergency response, and understands the value of having skilled staffed crews available at a moments notice. Mike Nelson also wants this for our community. Let’s make this a priority once again-Vote Mike!
The firefighters quite naturally are going to support Mike Nelson because he is a union executive – union members all stick together.
The population of Edmonds in the 2000 census was 39,515; in the 2010 census it was 39,709. It is now estimated to be about 42,000 – that’s a growth of only 6.3% in 19 years. My wife has had to use EMS several times since 2000 when she had a heart attack; the response time has always been very short. We couldn’t ask for more.
Ron, I am happy to hear you were met with a timely response for your wife. The City’s intended goal is to have cost effective timely emergency response. The way the city is staffed now, and what it is stated in the letter to the editor, is that the city is receiving much more mutual aid. This is a direct correlation to the staffing cuts. My father had a massive heart attack/ cardiac arrest in 1997, mutual aid resources were the first to arrive to our home in the bowl. Seconds count in a cardiac arrest. He succumbed to the event. I do not want this to happen again in our community. Luckily, Mike Nelson feels the same way!
Look out, Ron. “Union” is a trigger word for some commenters here and they will report your comment/have it edited. Right “Clint”?
Is readership is down since the webpage re-format? Mike was criticized by other candidates for hiring more firefighters than was asked for, and this was in the context of a discussion of what cuts could be made in the pending economic downturn. I support the firefighters, but I too would support Mike if he gave me more than I asked for and would elsewhere if cuts had to be made.
No, readership is not down. We are still working through some glitches related to the redesign and appreciate everyone’s patience as we resolve.