Worcester, Mass., Firefighters, Murray Say Obama Strong on Public Safety

Worcester, Mass., firefighters and Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Tim Murray believe President Barack Obama has a much stronger record of supporting first responders than Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

During a campaign event at Portsmouth Fire Station 2, Murray said Romney cut local aid to cities and towns when Romney was Massachusetts from 2002 to 2006, which forced Worcester and many other communities to lay off firefighters.

"This is somebody who sees budgets simply as line items and data points," said Murray in front of the Portsmouth Fire Department's "Vigilance" sculpture and fountain. Murray said he served as mayor of Worcester from 2002 to 2007 and as a city councilor from 1998 to 2001.

On Monday afternoon, Tommy Schultz, a spokesman for the Romney campaign in New Hampshire, issued the following statement in response to Murray's statements: "Mitt Romney has a strong record on fire safety, having signed the landmark Massachusetts Fire Safety Act. Upon taking office, the Governor was faced with a $3 billion deficit and had to make difficult decisions about where to cut spending. What the Obama campaign has failed to mention is that one of its top surrogates - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick - has made nearly identical cuts to fire programs and fire education."

Just hours before Romney and President Obama engage in the final presidential debate on foreign policy, Murray said the president also has a strong record abroad. Besides killing Osama bin Laden, Murray said President Obama has ended the war in Iraq and has set a deadline to bring home to troops from the war in Afghanistan in 2014. He said President Obama's approach to impose tough sanctions against Iran to prevent them from developing a nuclear weapon is another example of the president's strong leadership.

Murray said the president has always understood the importance of helping communities nationwide maintain the public safety they need.

"Security begins at home with our firefighters who keep us safe in our cities and towns everyday," Murray said.

Murray said Romney was the first governor in the last 30 to 40 years to refused to meet with the Massachusetts professional firefighters association, which had given strong support to former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci.

As a result of Romney's budget cutting to reduce taxes for the state's wealthiest citizens, Murray said local communities had less money for schools, teachers, firefighters and police officers. He said fire departments also had to cut back on life saving equipment such as thermal imaging cameras.

John Dwyer, who serves as president of the Worcester Fire Local 1009 union, said thanks to President Obama's leadership and commitment to public safety, Worcester received federal funds to add 50 firefighters to its ranks for a total of 405 firefighters who serve a city of 220,000 people.

Dwyer said President Obama chose to provide more funding for the federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Act, which helps many communities maintain the level of public safety they need.

Dwyer and Murray said they also experienced the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse fire tragedy first hand. On Dec. 3, 1996, Worcester firefighters responded to a vacant warehouse and went inside to rescue some homeless people who were believed to be inside. Six firefighters lost their lives.

Murray said the city decided to build a new fire station at the site of the former warehouse and create a living memorial to the firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice for their city as well as all the men and women who serve in the fire department each day. Murray said the city raised $4 million and requested $2 million from the Massachusetts Legislature in 2004.

Murray said state lawmakers approved the request, but "Gov. Romney vetoed it saying he needed more information."

Tommy Schultz issued this statement from the Romney campaign in New Hampshire in response to Murray's statements: "The funding for the Worcester fire station was included in one of a pair of bills that was passed by the Democratic legislature and filled with both earmarks and projects that would have been nice to have, including some very emotionally charged projects. Even so, Governor Romney believed that these programs properly should have been funded at the local level. With 350 Massachusetts cities and towns facing tightening budgets, it would not have been fair to pick and choose local projects to fund with state money."

Besides Portsmouth, Murray and the Worcester firefighters campaigned for President Obama in Londonderry and Manchester on Monday.