Fire commissioner candidates both boast experience, differ on details

Both candidates vying for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department Commissioner Position 2 spot boast a wealth of experience in fire service and emergency response. In fact, the differences between the two men are very few, but consequently noteworthy.

Incumbent YongSuk Cho is running for re-election against challenger Robert S. Peterson in an election that comes at a strangely mellow time for the department, a recent voter-approved, levy-funded building spree, which essentially modernized emergency response on Bainbridge, having just wrapped. All three island fire stations are now technically fully staffed for the first time in recent memory, and there are genuinely few issues on which the candidates can take differing stands — very much the opposite of the last Commissioner Position 2 election (it carries a six-year term).

Cho and Peterson recently chatted with the Review about the current state of the fire department on Bainbridge, the perks and problems of increasing the volunteer force, and whether fireworks are really the problem they’re being presented as.

* Transcripts have been edited for length and clarity.

YongSuk Cho

Cho has a nearly 30-year-long history with the island fire department, including 22 years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT and six years as commissioner. He has been a career firefighter/EMT in Seattle for 20 years and spent eight years as a member of FEMA Disaster Medical Assistance Team, as well as seven years as a volunteer EMT for Bainbridge Island Ambulance (now defunct).

In the wake of his election, fellow commissioners turned down Cho’s request to continue serving as a volunteer with the island department. Cho had hoped to continue acting as a volunteer while also serving as a commissioner. State law, however, requires an unanimous vote from commissioners to allow an elected official to serve in both roles, and a previous board decision established the current policy of not allowing commissioners to serve as volunteers on Bainbridge.

After decades of participation in the fire department and larger community on Bainbridge, following a move here from South Korea when he was 17, Cho said his primary goal in retaining the position is to increase the department’s volunteer force.

BIR: Seems like it’s a pretty good time to be a firefighter on Bainbridge Island right now.

YC: It is. I have to say, it’s one of the greatest jobs. It’s a job that directly helps people and any young person should be interested in [it]. It provides a decent living and it’s one of those jobs that can serve the community well, and the guys here do an excellent job at it.

BIR: So, as a commissioner, you look at it like you’re protecting the people who protect us?

YC: No, I don’t see it that way, actually. A commissioner’s job is more representing the citizens’ interest, not the firefighters’ interest. Often times they’ll tend to be the same, but obviously the commissioners want the department run well with the least amount of money. There are some things that conflict those interests, but often times it’s the same.

I’ve found that the Bainbridge fire department is one of the best run fire departments. Whether I’m a commissioner or not, I don’t think that makes any difference. I think it’s run that well. Mr. Peterson is an excellent candidate and even if he gets the job I think it’ll be perfectly fine. The community should be happy either way.

BIR: Do you have something from the past six years that you’re especially proud of? It was a rather important time for the department, with all the new construction going on.

YC: I initially had to do some politicking to get that actually done. At the time, some of the commissioners were not for new construction at all. I was actually hesitant about Station 21. I’ve got some history behind that building, I lived there for three years, and I still thought that building had life left. However, I saw the construction boom happening and the cost of construction going up and I thought doing it at that point makes more sense than let’s say waiting five, 10 years when it could have been double the amount of construction costs — which ended up being right. Station 22 obviously needed to be done and Station 23 needed to be upgraded. Station 21, I thought there was some life left but just to save taxpayers’ money I thought it made sense to start the work at that point.

BIR: Now that we do have these stations and they’re upgraded and we are fully manned —

YC: No, we’re not.

BIR: Oh, I thought department staffing was where leadership wanted now.

YC: It all depends on what you mean by fully staffed. Historically, I joined the department in ’91 … over time Station 2 and Station 3 and Station 1 were staffed with volunteers. However, because of training requirements the [amount of] people who want to volunteer have declined on Bainbridge. In turn, we didn’t have a choice but to hire people to staff those stations.

From the chief’s perspective it’s staffed by career members. Commissioners’ perspective, there has to be a combination to cut the cost down. There are some great things about the volunteer system. Bluntly put, it’s a

pain in the ass program, to maintain it, because volunteer people can say, ‘I don’t want to do things.’ It’s not easy to maintain those people. However, having the people walking around, being home with a pager on them … there’s great value to it.

I think we need to get that back. That’s actually the main reason that I ran last time and I still haven’t achieved that. There were other priorities that happened, the staffing was one of them and the construction was another big item, and now that things have settled down I would like to get back to tackling the hard work, which is increasing and maintaining volunteers.

I’m not talking about the volunteers who join the department to get experience and do well on the test to get a job. It’s the cheapest way to get more staffing on Bainbridge and we should run it.

I would not be where I am without the community of Bainbridge Island. I immigrated here in ’88, couldn’t speak any English. There are plenty of volunteers who helped me out to learn English. And the fire department itself was the same thing, people who took me in, literally.

I am thankful for what this community of Bainbridge does and there are plenty of great people who volunteer, a bunch of organizations here. I really truly believe there are enough people who can volunteer with the Bainbridge fire department and in turn we should utilize this. Making them Firefighter 1, EMT [certified] is not realistic. That’s what we’re requiring right now. They’re obviously better trained, better qualified to help people. However, the level of help that people can provide without being those is still there, especially if there is a big incident. Less than half of the current career staff live on Bainbridge. Most of the volunteers live off the island. So if there’s any kind of major incident that Bainbridge has to handle by themselves we’re in trouble.

BIR: So what do you do as a commissioner, or what does the department do, to attract island-based volunteers?

YC: That’s a tough one. That really is tough. The department does a great job at trying to reach. However, the requirement to be a volunteer … to meet those requirements and keep up with those requirements takes a lot of effort. It takes way too much time, it’s a good way to get divorced.

We, I think, have to lower the minimum requirement. Instead of a Firefighter 1, EMT, we might have to look into First Responder, which is like a couple weekends of training instead of a three-month training.

BIR: Was it difficult for you when the decision was made and you had to stop volunteering?

YC: It was the worst day of my life with the Bainbridge fire department. I actually got quite emotional that evening. Something about having that pager links you to the community. As the years passed, my involvement going on the runs declined … but that pager was with me for 24 years and giving that up was very tough.

I really do believe, by the way, a volunteer on Bainbridge impacts the community more than a commissioner. A commissioner is one of five, and there were a few times I hope I contributed. However, the volunteers work directly involved and [are] what makes peoples’ lives different.

BIR: Do you have an opinion on the recent fireworks ban?

YC: My personal feeling? I think we should allow it. I understand the animal issues and the environmental issues and all that, but also I guess I’m kind of old fashioned. Tradition matters. Holding a kid’s hand and watching it at the shore or somewhere, looking up together, there is great value to that. So I personally wish the city would allow it. But, that’s how it is. They decide it, we enforce it.

BIR: Is there anything else voters need to know or consider regarding the current state of the fire department or emergency preparedness on Bainbridge?

YC: I want the people to get more involved, ask more questions and get more involved. The fire department is one of those agencies that runs so well that people care about it, however, they don’t get involved. People simply trust the agency — and they should. But there is a great pride and responsibility in having that trust and in turn you have to meet those requirements or challenges. I do wish more people would get involved, even if they’re critical of the fire department.

Again, Bainbridge, in general, is a great place, a great community. I’m the direct beneficiary of that. I would not be here without those volunteers and community help. Being a commissioner was in a small part to return that favor and get involved. Whether I’m commissioner or not, I’m going to serve my community the way that I know how to do it, it’ll just be as a firefighter. In, fact, I’d rather not be a commissioner.

BIR: So why are you even running?

YC: To safeguard and somehow return the volunteer program. I didn’t see any other way. The thing is, if I’m not the commissioner, having the ears of the chief or other commissioners, I don’t have that opportunity.

I hate being commissioner, frankly. My beer consumption went up about two or three times because of it. The thing is, whenever I have a commissioners meeting and [get] frustrated, I come home and drink, well, I don’t drink that much. I drink maybe one or two beers a week, it used to be. Now, I drink three or four beers a week. My wife noticed that whenever I come back from a commissioners meeting, right now it’s OK but before, when things were a little confrontational, I don’t sleep well and my wife asked the same thing: “Why are you still doing it?”

If Peterson gets the job for some reason, I hope that he pays attention to that volunteer part of it, too.

I think that’s one thing I can provide that he doesn’t have, is [knowing] what Bainbridge is like. He obviously has enough experience in the fire service and that’s going to serve the community really well. But I work with Seattle department, it’s nothing alike, here and there. You simply go to Poulsbo, it’s different. The culture is different. So he’s going to have some learning period. I think I provide the steadiness … even the chief, he’s only been here like 15 years or something, 10 years. I’m one of the older guys.

BIR: Your opponent has alleged that you have missed too many recent board meetings, and “unforgivable” percentage, he said. Do you feel that’s fair and do you think it has affected your ability to do the job?

YC: I do work 24-hours shifts when I’m at my job. I’m sure that Mr. Peterson, who has retired from fire service, is very well aware of that. Unlike most other fire departments where firefighters work about a third of month, Seattle firefighters end up working about a fourth of month [and] that is why I miss about a fourth of meetings.

What Mr. Peterson is not aware of is what I do for those meetings I miss. I meet with members of the Bainbridge Island Fire Department on a regular basis, and prepare myself for agendas for meeting and let staffs and other commissioners know if I have any concerns before the meeting. When there were critical agendas such as levy and bond decisions, I have taken time off from my work to attend meetings.

Yes, missing meetings is something that voters should be aware of, but, having knowledge, experience and understanding of this community and the fire department is far more important to make right decisions for this wonderful community.

As I told you before, I immigrated from Korea, and live on Bainbridge Island since 1988. Many people on this community and Bainbridge Island Fire Department have helped me to learn English, and helped me be part of it. I just want to do my small part to repay what I have received from this wonderful island. If not as commissioner, I will continue to serve this community as a volunteer firefighter.

I am a little troubled about Mr. Peterson’s comment, though. I cannot imagine most of voters feel missing a few meetings is “unforgivable” as Mr. Peterson stated. Anyone who is willing to serve this beautiful community and proud fire department is someone who this community should encourage and embrace. As I told you before, the fact that Mr. Peterson is wanting to serve this community as a commissioner is great and I do thank him for it as a citizen of this island. And his long work history in fire service will serve Bainbridge Island well, if he gets elected.

Robert S. Peterson

Peterson boasts more than three decades of fire service experience, as well as having served as an elected commissioner for the Northshore Utility District for 11 years. All told, he has nearly 40 years of community service under his belt, including nine years as a fire chief, 13 years as a deputy chief and three years as a battalion chief.

He is also a member of the Bainbridge Island Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club of Bainbridge Island, and has been approved by the Kitsap County Democratic Women.

Last year, Peterson, who has lived on the island for a little more than two years, was one of five islanders to step forward and volunteer to serve in the soon-to-be-vacated seat on the board of commissioners after Bruce Alward announced his resignation. The board, including Peterson’s current opponent, ultimately chose Gina Batali for the Position 3 spot.

Now, he’s again eyeing a seat, via a full-fledged campaign this time around, extolling the benefits to the community of his extensive and varied experience in the fire service and prior work as an elected utility commissioner, saying it is time now, in the wake of the department’s building spree, for island voters to consider the longterm — and also insist on more fire hydrants.

BIR: This is your second attempt to be a fire commissioner here, correct?

RP: Sort of. They had an opening there so I applied, submitted some information, and actually [a writer] made a comment that I was so grossly more qualified than the person they selected it was almost laughable. But they picked a woman who I actually think is quite good, that’s why I chose not to run against her. In retrospect I said, ‘I’ll run against her, she has no experience.’ But I’ve gone to a few meetings and saw her participate and I said, ‘Oh no, she’s got to be on that board. She’s really good.’

BIR: It’s probably preferable that not all the commissioners actually be fire experts, right?

RP: That’s right, absolutely true.

BIR: But it was important enough to you to decide to go at it again now.

RP: I wasn’t running for election [before], I just threw my hat in the ring. Out of the five or so that where there probably two of us, experience-wise, were qualified, but it didn’t matter … But now I figure now is an opportunity to put my case out in front of the voters and I know I’m running against a guy who has had a very, very narrow career path.

BIR: Are there key issues or concerns that have motivated you to seek the position?

RP: No there’s not. I’ve really been exposed to about every single kind of issue you can be involved with in the fire service. The funding is always an issue. This department relies on volunteers a lot, and I’ve been involved in departments that have that so I know keeping that a viable program, the training and getting recruitment, is a huge issue.

BIR: When you say volunteers you’re not talking about the folks who have plans for an eventual career, right? You mean just citizen volunteers?

RP: You don’t know, a lot of them, that’s their path into a career. I always encourage young people that want to do it to go do it somewhere, then they can see if they’re kind of interested or if it just sounds cool.

BIR: Your opponent has said he strongly believes there aren’t enough volunteers on the island.

RP: There probably never is. Truly, I don’t know what their goal is because I haven’t seen that, but recruiting is hard, especially when you have a lot of commuting out of here. In the first department I worked with, down in California, they relied very heavily on volunteers and over the years, just because of the way the workforce changed, it literally became hard and harder and harder. We always had some, it got down to about 10, and about half of them were looking for future careers and the other half were just interested citizens.

I believe what he said, I agree with that. It never is enough … And it’s really hard to get them, especially in a community like this where you have got a lot of retired people and you’ve got people that are commuting and they are just not really available.

BIR: The minimum requirements to be a volunteer, the level of certification you have to get, has increased over the years. Some might say that discourages people.

RP: It sure does … Interesting fact, you talk about this fire department, back in 2007, I’d just retired a year before that, and an opening came up for the fire chief’s job. I competed against Hank [Teran]. But it was a pretty good sized group so I really got into it and said, ‘My heart’s not really in this. I just put a lot of years in.’ I’d had a lot of grief with fire commissions, that’s just the way they are, and where I was it was very disfunction. But so, anyway, he got selected and I think he’s the best person they could have picked.

The volunteers are a big important thing, the funding sources. They just had that thing for EMS levy, that’s good.

BIR: Having just wrapped the recent multi-station construction/refurbishing project, our facilities are better than they’ve ever been. Does that mean this election is more about longterm goals and concerns? Should voters be more worried about what things will look like in 10 years rather than tomorrow?

RP: I think you always should be doing that. [The department] has a strategic plan which covers a lot of stuff, but in a master plan, I’ve done these before, you say, ‘OK, here is what the population is going to do. Here’s what the demand for services is going to be. Here’s what the funding is probably going to be. How are we going to be able to continue with this level of service?’ And that’s for as far as you can reasonably look out and then every period of time, every year or two, look and say, ‘Are we on track?’

A good example of that is purchasing fire apparatus. Fire trucks cost a bloody fortune at this point. I haven’t bought one in a few years but I know they’re about $400,000 and usually you don’t just write a check for that. Usually you go back to your citizens and say, ‘We need some money for that’ or you plan. You say, ‘OK, we’re going have a replacement fund, it’s going to work out pretty good.’ I set up those in two departments, the city of Santa Rosa and up where I was last a fire chief, and it made it a lot easier. You knew what you were going to get and every year you’d adjust it, go back to the manufactures and say how much more is this typical fire engine going to cost this year? How much is it going to cost next year? You’re always tweaking it and it really worked out well. That’s the kind of plan you need. [Trucks] last 20 years, so you say, ‘I know in 20 years I can have replacement money set up for this.’

So yeah, you have to look out ahead further than just tomorrow. Slap yourself on the back; we have three really nice fire stations, but that’s only part of it.

BIR: You have a lot of experience in other places. Being relatively new to the island and having seen all that, how does the situation here stack up against what a city of comparable size elsewhere might have?

RP: From everything I know the department is excellent, very good. They have this fire rating bureau and they rate them one through whatever. I don’t know what their rating is because it doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t really save anybody any money. But this area will never be really high rated because there is no water system. Out where I live, on Eagle Harbor Drive, there isn’t a fire hydrant around for half a mile.

That’s one thing if I was on the fire commission, I think I’d use part of that position to address that through the Kitsap Public Utility District.

BIR: You mean the lack of fire hydrants?

RP: Exactly. They’ll say it costs too much, but you buy it once and maintain them. I don’t know what the costs are, but to me it’s a minimum level of service to have a water system.

BIR: I guess I never really noticed where they are or how many there are in any given area.

RP: I drive down Eagle Harbor and see a sign, Water Mains Being Flushed or something and I say, ‘Really?’ Where are the fire hydrants if there is a water main out here?

Actually, your home fire insurance is also predicated on that, distance to a fire hydrant. So maybe there’s a payback.

BIR: Do you have an opinion on the recent fireworks ban?

RP: I am absolutely against fireworks.

BIR: Even a big public display?

RP: A public display is different. My dog goes nuts, we have to give him drugs and everything, but once a year it goes back so far with our history and this kind of celebration I don’t have an issue with that at all.

I don’t think anybody has suffered because of [there being no show]. But in terms of fireworks they say, ‘Safe and sane’ and all that kind of stuff; it’s OK. I say nuh-uh, you get a lot of fires started with that kind of stuff. Fireworks cause a lot of problems, injuries, scares the hell out of dogs.

BIR: Your opponent has said he is more familiar with the island and the history of the department than you. Do you think having so many years of experience in other places makes you an asset for Bainbridge?

RP: Oh yeah, I think it would. I hear them talk about certain kinds of things … they’re talking about what they call closest engine response … great idea but it’s fraught with problems, which they may or may not see here. Based on the experience I have, I’ve seen that. So that’s the kind of thing I could offer opinions. Hank has a lot of experience but he’s only worked in one big fire department. With all due respect, he’s a very bright guy and he’s well educated, but you when you work at all different scales of fire departments … you just see a lot of different perspectives. So I think I can be really helpful in that regard. I don’t mean just sitting around like the old sage, somebody who can say, ‘Well I saw this one time and there are different circumstances here so maybe we can blend the two or whatever.’

BIR: Do you think it is the main responsibility of the commissioners to represent the community or act as an advisor?

RP: I think it’s representing the community and maybe using my technical expertise to benefit the citizens. That’s my perspective. I have nothing to gain out of it other than public interest. I’m in Rotary and I like to serve. I’m in the chamber of commerce, have my own little business … but it’s pretty interesting. And with all due respect to [Cho], he’s a nice person, I met him and shook hands a few times, but when you’re a firefighter you look at everything from the ground level. Then you get promoted up to lieutenant or captain and now you’re looking at 10,000 feet. And go up and up and up and pretty soon you get this global view as the fire chief that is different than the firefighters. If you’re a firefighter for two years you can pretty much learn the trade, and then after that, in my opinion, you just repeat the two years over again … I think you’ve got to grow.

BIR: And that kind of perspective you feel is essential to being a good commissioner?

RP: I think so. Again, I wouldn’t be telling everyone what to do. The chief’s got that job and that’s wonderful. But I think I can be a positive influence based on my experience and ability. I was a utility commissioner, 11 years doing that, and we were very successful in moving that organization along and answering problems and questions. So I’ve worked in that environment.

BIR: Your opponent said the island department is so well run it almost doesn’t matter which of you gets the job. Do you agree?

RP: In some regards, yes. In a wider view I don’t think that’s true at all. Day to day? Probably.

Maybe day to day he is correct, but I think as far as longer term or a little broader view, he’s not. The other issue … is that he missed a full one-third of the meetings and to me that’s unforgivable. If you can’t be at a meeting, and the circumstances are correct, you can do it over the telephone. You won’t get paid your stipend for it, but at least you can have your input and be understanding. But to not even bother to do that?

I know he’s on shift with the fire department but even then he can sit in the fire station and — I had a meeting, I was in Mexico one time, with the water district and talking on the phone, just to be continual in my input; or not, depending on what the issue was.

BIR: If I was to say, ‘OK, starting tomorrow we’re doing it your way.’ What should we do differently?

RP: Tomorrow? Nothing. It doesn’t work that way.

You start seeing where can I help? How can I represent the interests of the citizens? And this is not just electoral bull****; I’m trying to say this is what I believe in. Again, I don’t know how much input [Cho] puts into the meetings. I’ve sat there and he hasn’t said a word the whole meeting so I don’t know, maybe it’s an off night or something, but that’s not my M.O. If I have an opinion I’m going to express it.

I got a question from the League of Women Voters and they asked me what about global warming? I’m thinking, I have my own personal opinions but it has little to do with the fire department. It’s nice you can plan. If you know the whole world is drying out you should make some plans. But that’s not going to happen, by everything I read. So you’ve got to pick your spots you’ve got to make sure you’re in tune with what’s going on around you, what the citizens need and want — and for the most part they seem pretty here.

BIR: Any other big stuff you feel people should know before they vote?

RP: Not really, just that they know I care and I’m going to put the effort into it and the time into it. I’ve got a history of service.