East Manatee Fire Rescue District Seat 3: James Carlino

Name:  James Carlino

Occupation:  Law enforcement officer and college professor

Family: Undisclosed

Education: Doctorate of business administration in Homeland Security Leadership 

Elected government experience: None

Why are you running for office?

I am running for office because it is time to unify the fire districts in Manatee County. The fire district concept is outdated. This has been discussed for years but no one has stepped up to lead the effort. Currently, we have a variety of different fire departments in the county with an incredibly large overlap in services and expenses. There are so may fire chiefs, fire commissioners and administrative staffs all operating on their own and costing lots of money. The overlap in salaries and retirements is incredibly expensive, too. I am a fiscal conservative. We need only one fire department that will save money and provide a consistency of services throughout the whole county.  If you get hurt or your home catches fire, why shouldn’t you get the same level of service no matter where you are in the county?  The East Manatee Fire District can lead the way because it is the best in the county. I can help get it done. 

What experiences do you have that make you believe you are the right candidate for the job?

I am the only candidate with current real-world public safety experience. Everyone on the commission is retired. There is nothing wrong with that. I am almost 55, but I bring much needed diversity to the commission that is not there now. My education and public safety management experience, along with dedication to my community, make me the right choice. I am also a former Air Force firefighter, so I understand the complexities of fire-fighting and can combine all my other experience with that to ensure the fire district is run the best that it can be run. We need diversity and more experience. 

What do you see as the biggest challenge the district faces and how do you plan address it?

The biggest challenge the fire district faces is growth. The growth out East is tremendous, and we need to support it there, not pull resources from other fire stations to support it. That is not safe and bad management of resources. We have the tax base to start construction now on new stations. We should have been out ahead of this. It just takes someone like me to get on the commission and say “let’s go.” Those stations can be built a lot quicker and with superior quality than the previous stations. I have experience in this area and can work with the best local commercial construction companies to get this done at the best price. I will ensure a competitive bidding process takes place, so all is fair and above board. Ethics and fairness are very important to me.  

What ideas do you have for improving the districts operations?

This is a very important question. The fire district needs new leadership on the commission to ensure we are forward thinking in our operational needs, not just maintaining the status quo. We already have great employees. Having the right leaders on the commission and also forward thinking, progressive managers in place will ensure that we do not fail. Another area that we need to improve on in operations is minority hiring.  I am concerned about the diversity of the fire department. That needs to be looked at very closely. How many female and minority firefighters do we have?  How many female and minority leaders do we have?  

What other issues do you see as important to the district and why?

All of the current commissioners attend just one meeting a month and get the opportunity to collect $500 for about one hour’s work. That’s about all they have to do.  They voted that for themselves in early 2000 with Fire Commissioner Lawson leading the way. I think it is wrong and can promote unethical conduct. How can you expect our firefighters to adhere to strict work rules and also ethical rules of conduct when they see commissioners doing this?  My opponent has been on the commission for very long time. I am a worker and I will earn that money. I may even give it back if I don’t think I am working enough hours for you, it sure will not be one meeting per month.