Citizens for San Miguel

HEAR OUR HOT INTERVIEWS: SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD CANDIDATES

 

By Miriam Raftery

November 4, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – The future of the San Miguel Fire District hangs in the balance.  Should San Miguel keep its contract with Cal-Fire or return to being a stand-alone district, as the current board recently voted by a slim margin?  We interviewed a representative from  each of the two slates running for our East County Magazine Radio Show on KNSJ. Listen now by clicking the orange audio link.

 In this heated session,  incumbent Bill  Kiel, a retired engineer, makes the case for staying with Cal-Fire, while retired fire chief Kim Raddatz argues for giving Cal-Fire the boot and returning to an independent district.  Each side claims their position will be best for taxpayers and public safety.  One side is backed by Cal-Fire firefighters, the other by leaders of the former San Miguel firefighters.

Audio: 

San Miguel Fire interviews: Kim Raddatz and Bill Kiel, candidate slate representatives

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DUELING SLATES VIE FOR SAN MIGUEL FIRE BOARD: ALL 9 CANDIDATES SPEAK OUT AT HEATED CANDIDATE FORUM IN CREST

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 20, 2016 (Crest) – The stakes are high in the San Miguel Fire Board race. In July, the board majority voted to axe a contract that outsourced firefighting to Cal Fire, entered into back when property tax revenues had plummeted in the recession and the district had shut down a fire station.  Now four candidates want to undo the recent vote and keep the deal with Cal Fire, while four others are running to restore local control.  The ninth candidate says he hasn’t made up his mind.  There are four seats up for grabs.

All nine appeared at a candidate forum tonight in Crest, a town that burned in the 2003 fires and where residents pay a higher assessment for fire services than any other fire district locally.


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Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.