BOISE, Idaho — The Local 149 firefighters union has agreed to pull a political commercial supporting the re-election of Boise Mayor Dave Bieter after a request from Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan.
Doan asked the union to pull the ad until it can be properly edited because it featured firefighters in their city uniforms.
The commercial began airing on local television stations recently and encourages Boise to support the mayor, citing a lower crime rate, new facilities, and more police and fire personnel being hired during Bieter's administration.
The video itself features Boise firefighters in city uniform, with close shots of their badges.
Doan says the Boise Fire Department's regulations and policies state that firefighters cannot be in uniform, nor use the Boise Fire Department's city logo, or be on duty when they are engaging in political activity.
Union clothing or gear is allowed in the video because the firefighters are not appearing as a city agency.
While neither BFD nor the union broke the law, the issues with the ad dealt with department policy. Firefighters involved in the video were off duty at the time.
Former Idaho Attorney General David Leroy clarifies policy by telling KTVB that anything done in an official capacity should be kept separate from political affiliation.
“The police unions, the firemen’s groups, all endorse candidates and that’s not inappropriate and some of the candidates they endorse are incumbents,” he said. “It’s not proper to misuse official organizations, property, public time, public employees on the job in an endorsement ad. All that needs to be separated nicely from officialdom and official conduct.”
At the end of the commercial, the logos for both the police and firefighter unions are shown, as well as a message saying that the ad was paid for the Bright Futures Boise PAC.
Doan also sent a memo on June 18 to all Boise Fire staff reminding them of the department's regulations.
One section of the memo read, "You may not wear City of Boise clothing or uniforms while advocating for or against a ballot measure or candidate."
"I also verbally warned the Local 149 leadership, prior to the filming of the ad, about the city regulations on political activity and the Boise Fire Department," Doan said.
Mike Bisagno, president of the Local 149 Firefighters Union, told KTVB as of Wednesday afternoon, they had requested the ad be pulled and corrected.
"The advertisement was made by an independent expenditure PAC that the Local 149 PAC has donated to," Bisagno said. "Once I was made aware of the discrepancies in the ad, I contacted the advertising agency that is running the ad and had it pulled until the proper edits can be made."
Once the corrections are made, the ad could start running again.