Adam Brolan has been chosen as the newest member of the Windsor
Fire Protection District Board from a candidate pool that
represented some of the best volunteers Windsor has to offer.
An unprecedented response included active firefighters from
outside departments, a former Town Mayor, retired and current
business owners, former San Francisco police officer, former
Windsor firefighter and a doctor. Each of the seven candidates
presented impressive qualifications for the single opening and
board members said they were faced with a difficult decision in
selecting their new board-member.
Brolan has lived in Windsor for twelve years. He is a caption
with the Novato fire department and has been active in labor
negiations at his department. He said he applied as a way to give
back to the community. “It’s an exciting time for the department,”
he said. “And I want to just be part of that.”
The Board was filling a position vacated by Richard Olufs whose
term was set to expire in Nov. 2008. Under current rules, a
position is considered vacant when an existing member does not
attend three consecutive meetings.
Boardmdmber John Doherty asked each of the candidates if they
planned to run for the Board in 2008, if they believed board
members should be compensated and what they thought about a merger
with another fire district.
Brolan said he was against compensation as he believed serving
was more of civic duty and that he did plan to run in 2008.
Browling gave a “qualified yes” to the possibility of a merger
saying that he didn’t have all the facts and figures for any
specific Windsor proposal but that generally, a well managed merger
was a benefit to the public.
Candidates were also asked to list their preference between
working on the budget and labor committees with five of the seven,
including Brolan, citing the budget committee as their preferred
assignment.
During the interview, Brolan said he believed the most important
issue facing the WFPD in the near future was stable, long term
funding as the expenses associated with purchasing and upgrading
equipment were one time expenses but in order to maximize the use
of that equipment, a stable funding sources are necessary.
Director John. D. Nelson said he thought the decision was going
to be tough based purely on the strength of the resumes presented
but that it became even more difficult after hearing from the
candidates in person.
The Board debated several candidates before unanimously
approving Brolan.
Brolan said he was thrilled to be chosen from amongst such a
strong pool. “It was unbelievable to me,” he said. “I was really
proud of the level of competition that it drew out, that really
says something for Windsor. It was just unbelievable.”
