Concord Firefighters Throw Support to Feltes

The two local unions representing Concord firefighters as well as the state’s largest firefighter organization endorsed Dan Feltes on July 28, one of two Democratic candidates seeking to replace state Sen. Sylvia Larsen, D-Concord, who represents Concord, Henniker, Hopkinton, and Warner.

Union officials, including David Lang, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire, cited Feltes support for working class and middle-class families. Jim Duckworth, the president of Concord Local #1045, and Mark Hebert, the president of Concord Officers Local #3195, introduced Feltes to the firefighters outside of the Broadway Station 4 and commended him as a leader in the community.

Lang said while the firefighters of the city protected the citizens of the capital, firefighters and the citizens needed someone in the capital building protecting them, too.

“We need someone in the capital that’s going to protect the neighborhoods of this city, the neighborhoods of this state … we’re going to need someone that understands what the middle class needs,” Lang said. “Someone that’s not afraid to fight.”

Feltes said he was proud to stand with firefighters who were on “the front lines, making our community state and strong.” He said the organization understood that in order to move the state’s economy forward, working families couldn’t be left behind, and business, families, and homes needed to be safe and secure.

After the press conference, Lang stated that the group had not interviewed Kass Ardinger, the other Democrat in the race, or Lydia Dube Harmon, the Republican, for the endorsement. Feltes, he said, reached out to firefighters for assistance before deciding to run. After they spoke and met with him, the unions moved forward on the endorsement. Lang did, however, make a courtesy call to Ardinger earlier today, informing her of the union’s endorsement.

This is the second major endorsement Feltes has received in recent days. SEA/SEIU 1984, representing state employees and others, backed the Democrat two weeks ago.