Fire Fighters Thank Dodd for His Commitment

January 3, 2008 - Harold A. Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, issued this statement after Chris Dodd announced he was ending his campaign for the presidency of the United States following the Iowa caucuses:

"The IAFF put our trademark gold and black 'Fire Fighters For' political effort and operation behind Senator Chris Dodd based on principle, against the toughest odds.

"We supported Chris because of what he has done, not what he was promising. He earned our support.

"No one has done more than Chris to ensure that our communities have the resources for emergency response. No one has done more to help working families fulfill their obligations and realize their promise.

"Chris Dodd knows how to work across party lines and has the experience to lead our country back to a leadership role in the world once again.

"Simply put, we have stood with him because we believe that Chris Dodd should be the next president of the United States.

"Now that he is ending that quest, we thank Chris for a hard fought campaign. We have been proud to stand with him through this tough effort.

"We know Chris will continue to fight on behalf of the fire fighters and workers of this country as a U.S. senator. And we will stand proudly with him in legislative battles to improve our nation in the years to come.

"This union and our members in Iowa campaigned harder than anyone out there over the past four months. Because of that tremendous effort, we had twice as many members attend caucuses this time than we did when we helped John Kerry to his improbable victory in 2004.

"I am extremely proud of the time, sweat and heartfelt effort the professional fire fighters of Iowa gave for Chris. Once again, they showed their value and tenacity as the strongest campaigners in the game. While we walk away with our heads held very high, knowing we made the right decision to support the right candidate, ultimately, this time, with the extremely high turnout and massive funding advantages of other candidates, our effort was not enough.

"Every candidate participating in the caucus knows the value and effort our fire fighters bring to the table. At every level of politics, candidates pursue our support and the proven political operation we put into action. That's why the campaigns of all of the Democratic and a number of Republican candidates sought out the IAFF endorsement early on. And that's why the Democratic frontrunners actively sought us out to try to make a deal to support their candidate if Chris wasn't viable in a particular caucus location.

"We didn't make any deals because this process for the IAFF is about supporting the candidate who earned our endorsement – and there was one who stood head and shoulders above the rest – Chris Dodd. It was never about picking the winner in a horse race. And it isn't about that for us now.

"We made our original endorsement based on our strong principle and after considerable internal discussion. That's why we didn't ask our members to prepare a Plan B for another candidate if Chris Dodd did not reach his 15 percent threshold at the Iowa caucus. Fire fighters had good reason to support Chris, and we remained with him for as long as he was standing.

"Going forward, we will let the process play out more before reevaluating the remaining candidates and once again beginning the process of determining which candidate deserves the support of America's professional fire fighters and emergency medical workers."